


Secrets Still Exist

by Ayyyy (thatanimelover)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Mentions of alcoholism, Mentions of self-harm, Multi, No Smut, Trigger Warnings, like one paragraph in the entire fic, mentions of panic attacks/mental breakdowns, semi-epilogue compliant, very little mentions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-04-08 10:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 42,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4301466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatanimelover/pseuds/Ayyyy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After everything that had happened during the giant war, Nico feels much better, but is still very much reluctant to take up any kind of quest. His life feels surprisingly normal, and he's in less danger than he's been in for a long time. He just wants to move on. Then, Chiron comes up to several demigods and gives them a quest to retrieve a stolen weapon while pretending to be magical children in a world unknown to them. Even so, perhaps the quest will be a good chance to get away and worry about something other than wars with beings thousands of times more powerful than them.<br/>Harry and Draco have been assigned to protect the transfer students, but there's something very strange going on with these students. It's up to them to find out who they are and what they want. After all, Hogwarts hasn't ever had transfers before. Unfortunately for them, the demigods are determined to keep Harry and Draco at arm's length. On the other hand, they're just as determined to keep the children that they've been assigned to protect safe. After all, personal experience tells them that secretive kids are usually in a much harsher situation than believable.<br/>Adopted here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/8048191/chapters/18434914</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Another Summer, Another Unwanted Quest

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't my first attempt at writing a fanfiction, but it is my first to try and post one. This will mainly be fluff and a lot of learning on both sides (although only on the demigod side at first), but I will add battles and plot. I don't know if I'll be able to write angst. I kind of suck at it, but if I manage to inspire myself, I'll try. I hope you guys enjoy the story and I'll appreciate any comments you leave!
> 
> UPDATE: This has been adopted by Menya_Savut at this link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/8048191/chapters/18434914

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is currently on editing hiatus. This is the first edited chapter. Luckily, the changes don't really affect the rest of the story so far. Further in, the plot line will begin to take a few minor deviations that will still become confusing with later chapters. I'll try to keep the updated chapters on track for you guys. I'm sorry for so suddenly editing it, but I feel like I have to! I promise, I'll try to get it out of the way ASAP. Thank you for sticking through and sorry for the sudden changes!

     Nico likes his sleep. Most people assume that he's a nocturnal person, but Nico will sleep whenever the chance comes. Although he's had a year to recover, the nightmares haven't let off. Every time he takes a nap, he'll wake up a few hours later in cold sweat and chilled shivers. _That's_ why he appreciates any time he has to sleep. That's also why anyone that wakes him up from the few hours of sleep that he can manage to get before the nightmares hit should have coffee on him.  

     Chiron must be crazy, concluded Nico. People don't wake up other people at six in the morning, especially not demigods suffering harsh and unforgiving nightmares about a war that would earn them a large sentence in a psychiatric ward if they told any mortals about them. When they do, they shouldn't be surprised that they're hit with a nice mixture of sarcasm, crankiness, and outright ass-like behavior. That _might_ be why Will is currently keeping as silent as possible beside him, but Nico simply can't bring himself to care. His boyfriend will just have to deal with it.  

     His _boyfriend_. That's such a nice title, thinks Nico to himself. Every time he repeats Will's title to himself, he gets the same skeletal butterflies in his stomach that he got when Will forced him into three days of recovery at the hands of the doctor. It certainly isn't an unpleasant feeling, at least not now. It's just still unexpected. Nico never thought he'd be able to get over Percy, but he did. It's just about the nicest feeling in the world. 

     Just about, but the feelings that the sun-kissed Apollo clone beside him causes him to feel are even better. So much better, in fact, that he wants to find Cupid and tell the asshole that he was wrong. He wants to tell Cupid that the risk of unrequited or lost love is worth the amazing experience itself.  

     Nico blanches. He sounds like a member of the blasted Aphrodite cabin, for crying out loud! Even so, he can't seem to regret any of his thoughts. Will makes him happy. Doesn't he deserve happiness? (He thinks he probably shouldn't ask that because then he might have to deal with the Fates' shitty response. He doesn't like the Fates. They like to fuck people over.) 

     As he and Will arrive to the Big House, Nico notices the other people in the cabin. Surprisingly, it isn't the house heads that are currently sitting inside the room, but several people from the prophecy (Ugh, Prophecies. Nico could go through eternity without them at this point.). He decides to ignore the seats and head straight over to that coffee that Will forgot to bring with him. Once he's prepared himself a cup of black coffee and Will has prepared his cup of cappuccino, they head over to the end of the table.  

     It takes Nico several minutes for his mood to brighten as the caffeine works itself through his system. That doesn't mean he can take a certain son of Poseidon's crazy antics just yet, but he can tolerate the fact that Chiron _did_ indeed call them into the Big House at six in the morning for gods know what reason. Thank the gods that Percy is now at Camp Jupiter and is no longer there to press at Nico's last remaining button.  

     After a few more minutes, Nico finally manages to gather the energy to look around the room. Everyone looks disheveled and annoyed at their early wake-up call. Nico can't help but feel an ounce of sympathy for Leo, whose curly hair is pointing in all directions and copper skin is smudged with black in all places. The poor guy was probably up until all hours in the morning working on another machine of his.  

     Leo is a surprise to have back at camp, but a nice one at that. Everyone had thought that he was dead, but he showed up back at camp on Christmas Day, even wrapping himself in a bow and attaching a giant sign on Festus saying, "Merry Christmas!" While Jason had taken it all into stride and given his friend a bear hug, Piper had pretty much pounded the boy to the ground before embracing him in her own crushing hug. 

     "Now that we have everyone here, we can start the meeting," Chiron says, snapping Nico out of his thoughts. Chiron grabs a glass of water and dumps it onto the hot plate, then throws in a drachma. "Camp Jupiter," he says. Nico has to resist the urge to groan as he makes out some of the blurry faces. _And I thought I wouldn't have to deal with Percy this early in the morning ever again_ , thought Nico as he resisted the urge to drop his head on the table and moan. _But maybe I won't...?_ Nico tends to forget that Percy and his stormy-eyed girlfriend were getting ready to start college in New Rome.  

     "Hey guys!" the dark-haired offspring of the sea says from Iris Message. Beside him is a stern looking blonde with bags under her eyes. Nico wonders why they were called, especially since both Percy and Annabeth had expressed absolutely no desire at all to ever be involved in another quest again. Nico can't blame them. Other than himself, they were the only other people that had to suffer the tortures of literal Hell, and that was just the cherry on top of their ice cream Sunday that started at the ages of twelve and seven, respectively.  

     "We know this is important Chiron, but is there a reason you had to wake up every single camper at three in the morning?" Frank says on Percy's other side. His praetor robe looks like it was thrown on hastily and Nico can't help but wonder whether Frank is wearing anything under it. 

     As Frank speaks, Nico looks at the end of the group at his younger sister. Hazel looks surprisingly cranky, and her dark hair, like everyone's currently inside the Big House, is strewn around everywhere. She's usually very patient. Then again, Frank _did_ mention that it's currently three in the morning in California.  

     "Well?" Piper asks impatiently, taking another swig of coffee afterwards. "We're all here now, I'm guessing." 

     Chiron looks mildly uncomfortable as he shifts his feet. For a centaur, he does an awfully good job of mimicking human mannerisms. Nico sees Chiron trying to figure out how to say what he means to say without instigating any of the campers' anger.  

     Nico realizes what Chiron wants to ask and makes a horrified expression. Everyone around him mimics the action as they too realize why they are in the cabin. Then, the group releases a collective groan and someone, most likely Percy, mutters, "Why do I always get trapped in this shit?" 

     Frank, with the confidence only a Praetor can manage, looks directly at Chiron and says, "This is about a quest, isn't it?" 

     Chiron, apparently relieved that he doesn't have to bring the subject up first around nine of the most reluctant campers, nods. _Yeah. Regain your damn confidence now that you've pretty much set us up for a death sentence_ , Nico thinks bitterly.  

     Quests aren't particularly dangerous. Most demigods actually manage to survive their quests pretty much unscathed. On the other hand, the group currently waiting for Chiron's explanation is not normal in any way, shape, or form. Every person in the room except Calypso (who doesn't count because she's been trapped in Ogygia) has had their fair share of dangerous quests like these. They've had enough traveling, missions to save the world, and emotional trauma to survive them an entire trip directly into the Isles of the Blest. Percy even managed to get himself an offer for godhood, dammit! 

     After a few minutes, Chiron gives a small sigh. "I _realize_ that I have no basis for which to call on some of you for this quest--"  

     "Damn right, you don't! Annabeth and I start college in a few weeks!" Percy interrupts Chiron. Other than Annabeth and Grover, only Nico and Piper have the inside information for Percy's constant mood swings. Will, as the camp's unofficial official doctor, also has the inside information and has told Nico in the past (with Percy's permission because the world be damned if patient confidentiality be infringed upon) about Percy's post-traumatic stress disorder. It's only slightly less severe than Nico's (who cannot fall asleep without seeing the shadows in his dreams and hearing the voices of the dead), which is, in the simplest terms, _not good_.  

     "Calm down, water balloon," Nico muttered under his breath. The nickname was a result of an incident that happened last summer at camp. Percy, just recently diagnosed, had been trying to ignore everyone. As Nico later learned from Percy himself, the diagnosis was his last straw, which was the reason why Percy blew up on everyone and pretty much flooded the entire camp. It took several days and the hard work of the collaborating Demeter cabin and satyrs to fix the damage done by the water. Nico, after hearing the entire story, took to calling him water balloon after that. There was always the threat that he would explode, but he wouldn't as long as there wasn't too much pressure applied on him.  

     "I told you not to call me that," Percy said exasperatedly, but with an upwards twitch of his mouth.  

     Nico gave his own smirk. "Then stop acting like one," replied Will from beside him after taking another sip from his cappuccino.  

     Before Percy could give his scathing reply, Chiron started talking again. "I _realize_ that several of you don't want to do this, and that's perfectly okay. The quest is perfectly optional, but can I at least convince you to listen to my explanation before turning it down?" Nico's eye twitched at Chiron's annoyingly calm tone. 

     "Then start," Annabeth replies in an irritated tone beside him. "I have blueprints to finish tomorrow morning." 

     Chiron looks around the room and at the Iris message one more time before giving a nod. "Now that I have your cooperation, I'll have to give you the warnings first. I have brought all ten of you here because this quest is going to take quite some manpower. I wouldn't send all ten of you all the way to the U.K. on a normal basis—or at all, really—but an emergency has come up. 

     "This quest is dangerous, but not so much that you will be forced into any injuries of the sort. Physical _or_  mental," Chiron added that last part looking pointedly at Annabeth, Percy, and Nico. Nico had to hold back his customary glare and simply gave an approving nod. "Dangerous" wasn't that bad. "Mentally damaging" was an entirely different matter. 

     Annabeth is about to question the destination, but Chiron interrupts her by putting up his hand and saying, "Before you ask questions, let me finish explaining." 

     Annabeth, and a few others, narrows her eyes, but simply gives her own nod.  

     "You ten will be going undercover to the United Kingdom. Hecate is missing one of her torches." 

     As the gasps permeated the room, all Nico could think about was how completely and absolutely screwed they were. _Fuck my life_.  


	2. We Don't Believe You...Completely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry, Draco, and the demigods all get some very long explanations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I really appreciate those of you that gave me kudos on the last chapter. I'm glad you liked it, and I hope you like this one as well. Trust me, this one is significantly longer than the first chapter. I'm sorry if some of you find it boring, but I had to get in explanations. Hopefully, I can add more humor into the next chapter. On the bright side, I introduce the Harry, Draco, and the boys in this chapter! I'm actually pretty happy with how it came out, although the ending kind of bothered me at first. Just a warning, I will actually not be updating this often, especially during the school year. I hope you stick around anyway, because I do have plans to finish this. Enjoy!
> 
> UPDATE: I FINALLY GRADUATED SO I CAN FINALLY EDIT THIS. As you will notice in this chapter, I have decided to include not one, but ALL THREE Potter children. Also, no one in the wizarding world knows anything now. Mwahahahaha. Sorry.

_Date_ _: Friday, August 12_ _, 2016_    
 _Location: Camp Half-blood, Long Island, New York, USA_  

     "Woah, woah. What!?" Percy asks from the Iris message. A split-second silence permeates the room, and then the demigods all explode in noise.  

     "How do you even _steal_ an object from a deity?" Piper questions as she stares up at the ceiling. Nico leans his head back against his chair to look at the customary beige covered in shimmering gold symbols. Chiron and Annabeth took part in a remodeling of the Big House when reparations were being completed on the campus. It's safe to say that the rec room was one of the first places they tackled. The nostalgic ping-pong table still sits in the middle of the room, and all of the demigods around it with Chiron standing on the other side, but the chairs have been replaced with comfortable new ones that can be stacked, a concession that had to be made around the time that the twentieth cabin was added to the camp's ground. The wall is solid beige, a Greek key design at the edge of each wall. Passively, Nico thought for the millionth time about how much he enjoys this room when it's peacefully quiet. 

     "More like how do you steal the torch of the fucking queen of magic and illusions?" Leo piped in from beside Piper, dragging Nico out of his own thoughts.  

     The yelling and exclamations continued for a few more minutes. Nico could only think with a neutral expression that the people around him are all idiots. Thankfully, the noise died down as Chiron began to speak once again.  

     "When she realized her torch was missing, Hecate came directly to camp to hand out the quest. She just left a few minutes ago. I was at a dilemma at what to do, but Mr. D suggested calling out the ten of you. As the most experienced and powerful of the camp, I thought, 'Why not?'" Chiron explained nonchalantly.   

     "What's so important about Hecate's torch, anyway?" Will asks beside him. Nico wonders so as well. While he realizes that the gods tend to be fairly irrational, Nico can't help but question why there would be so much panic for a simple item, probably something that's going to end up having been misplaced in the end.  

     It's not Chiron that speaks up, but, rather, Hazel. "Hecate can influence the Mist easily without any sort of medium, but the torches are a medium whenever she requires something much stronger than her already absurdly powerful magic. She uses them as her weapon, but I don't understand why someone would steal it. Only a person with innate magic can use the torch." 

     "So like some type of wand or staff?" Jason asks from the other side of Piper, holding her hand in his lap. Nico takes a glance and sees Piper squeeze his in a comforting gesture.  

     "Not like, Jason. Her torches act as would wands or staffs because of their powers as magic-amplifying mediums. The problem is that they're a double-edged sword. Out of her hands, they can become destructive and dangerous. One alone can give one of her children more power than all of you combined," Chiron says. He glances around, waiting for questions, but receives none. 

     "Well, all of the children that we know of above the age of thirteen are at one of the two camps, as well as the children of any of the other gods. Unless an underage child stole her weapon, I can't think of anyone else that could have in the first place," Hazel comments after giving a large yawn.  

     "That's why you're here, Hazel. Hecate explained to me just a few minutes ago that she got duped. She was having a conversation with one of her children in England when she set down one of her torches. Everything was going fine until she suddenly felt her torch's magical signature disappear. She tried to track it down by sensing its magical signature, but it was as if it had just disappeared off the face of the Earth," Chiron explains calmly, switching his weight to one side or the other.  

     "I'm guessing she doesn't suspect her child. If that's the case, who _does_ she suspect of stealing the torch?" Nico finally asks as he leans slightly into Will. He takes another drink from his coffee, poker face awaiting an explanation. 

     "She believes that certain friends of her child are involved," Chiron says vaguely, beginning to show his anxiety again through the swishing of his tail. "Even so, she was unable to track the magical signature that flared up beside her torch momentarily before it disappeared. The person who stole the weapon was probably prepared to do a lot of hiding."  

     Nico narrows his eyes. "Chiron, who _does_ she think stole the torch," Annabeth says from the Iris message. The expression on her face mimics his, her silvery eyes narrowed in Chiron's direction.  

     "Annabeth. Percy. Nico. You three have had interactions with the outlying realms, correct?" All three of them nod. Chiron does so as well.  

     Chiron faces the others. "Just as the Greeks and Romans have kept themselves separated for several decades, there are other gods out there." 

     Nico holds back a smirk as everyone goes tense. "Other gods? How?" asks Will.  

     "It's hard to explain how they can co-exist, but part of the reason why the coexistence of so many different deities is possible is due to the separation of their realms. There are different dimensional layers, and each belongs to a different belief system. Mortals tend to be the most unfortunate because they must choose to believe in one or chance the randomization system of the universe. Only a select few can see more than a few layers. _That_ includes demigods," Chiron says. "I'm not supposed to tell any of you this, and you certainly aren't supposed to know, but this mission requires that you step into another realm of beliefs." 

     "Woah, woah, woah. Belief systems? Dimensional separation? Where did reality go?" Leo asks as he looks around, shaking his head as if trying to wake himself up.  

     "Down the dumpster the moment you took a step onto Camp Halfblood," Frank snorts under his breath as he glares at Chiron.  

     "Everywhere," Chiron replies more kindly. "You are in your own reality, and must now permeate into another person's reality. It doesn't make this one any less real. It just creates different subjective views of what happens around you." 

     "So would you mind explaining exactly _why_ we're invading another realm?" Nico questions in a cool voice. He pleads with his eyes to keep them open, but sleep is going to overtake him at any moment and he doesn't want it to happen during the middle of a meeting. 

     "Currently, there are special areas in the United Kingdom that are under the control of the Norse gods. Specifically, under the control of their goddess Freya," Chiron says. 

     Annabeth perks up in the Iris message. Nico doesn't resist the overwhelming urge to roll his eyes, so he really isn't surprised when Annabeth shoots him a glare. "Freya, as in the only official practitioner of seidr among the Norse goddesses?"  

     "Exactly," Chiron replies. Nico looks around the room and is relieved to find that he's not the only one that's incredibly confused.  

     "Seidr? What's that," Jason questions as he pulls his cup up to his face again. 

     "Seidr," Calypso speaks up, "the Norse magic of the fates. It's extremely powerful and the Vanir goddess Freya and the Aesir god Odin are considered its most experience practitioners because of its difficulty to learn. Freya was considered a sort of witch, or wand-wielder, by the Norse. The völva, best described as witches or shamans, modeled themselves after Freya and practiced both seidr and other types of magic." 

     Chiron picks up the conversation and continues. "There exist several groups of magicians in both England and around the world that are descendants of priestesses or shamans to deities that earliest resided there, but they all are similar to each other: wand-wielders with innate magical ability. Hecate believes that one of these wand wielders somehow set up a trap in her son's home after he or she somehow found out about her. This trap only activated specifically to the torch's magical signature." 

     Silence permeates the room again, until Percy finally speaks up. "So let me get this right. We have to go to England, _specifically_ to those areas in which these witch-descendants reside, find Hecate's torch, then get the Hell out of there? Chiron, we're demigods, not miracle workers!" 

     "I would argue that case, Percy. You've worked plenty of miracles in your short life span." 

     "Chiron!" 

     The centaur gives a heavy sigh, then says, "Yes, although those aren't all of the details. You have to invade their society as well. The easiest way to do that in this case is if you go to school with their children." 

     Hazel slams her head into the table in front of her. "Chiron! We're not wand-wielders! Our magic is too unique to escape detection. The best we can do in an environment like that one is use our powers to our advantage. Even so, that will hardly _help_ us." 

     "That's why Hecate has volunteered to bless you with her own magic, the wand-wielding type, at least temporarily. There will be no difference between your magic and their's, except for its origins. It will even respond as equally to the English-Latin hybrids they use for their magic as to Greek. It would be much harder for their wizarding societies to mix if that weren't the case," Chiron responds as he swishes his tail happily.  

     "It looks like you've thought this all through. Now that we're done with the history lesson, can we start with the actual mission details," Frank bites out through fatigue. 

     Chiron, ignoring the rudeness of his charges, nods. "You will be going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizarding in northern Scotland, and you will have one year to find the torch. You'll be forced to learn and go to classes, but, as long as you keep passing grades, you will have the time to do research on the torch's location. Hecate will supply you with the magic and your wands, and I will supply you with the necessary currency. School starts on September first. I'll be sending you out about three days before to collect your other supplies and familiarize yourselves with the environment. I'll expect you to keep in contact with me at least once a week while you're there, and those of you with parents will have to get their permission to go."  

     Nico can't help but ask the question that has been bothering him. "Why is it so important that we get that torch back? I understand the consequences when used by a child of Hecate, but they possibly can't be that terrifying in accordance to a witch or wizard, whose innate magic is naturally much weaker, can it?" 

     "Nico, the consequences aren't bad for us. The person wielding the torch would only be powerful enough to become an equal to Percy, Jason, or even you. Collectively, you could easily take on that person. But the wizarding worlds aren't that powerful. Whoever wields that torch would become the most powerful wizard, and he or she could grant that power to others. If that happens, we would be responsible for a war that might not even involve our people." 

     Nico isn't the only one that shivers at that. _Yeah, I'll take the peace, if you don't mind._  

     "I'll accept," Nico says. "I don't want to deal with another war. If we're dealing with Greek magic, I can track it down eventually. Plus, I have nothing else to do, and I certainly don't feel like going to school just to learn stuff that might never make any difference to me.  

     "I'll give the rest of you until the end of camp to accept or reject the quest. Your files have already been sent to the British Ministry of Magic. They're currently processing them and I will get back the information I need for you at the end of the summer. Anyone else want to accept now?"  

     "I can't go to school anyway, since I'm not supposed to be alive," Hazel replies. "I'll go. It will be nice to see Europe without a fatal deadline on my neck." 

     "I'll go as well. It's better than heading back into the system," Leo adds from his seat beside Piper. Everyone waits for another response, but no one else volunteers.   

     Chiron nods. "Okay. So we have three going. Hazel, if you want to obtain more information, Hecate will give you the basic details of wizarding magic and can obtain any details about the British society for you. As for the rest of you, you have until next week to make up your mind." 

     Everyone nods, then says their goodbyes. Someone, most likely Percy, runs his hand through the water and ends the message. Nico takes out an MP3 player containing a chip enchanted by the Hephaestus cabin to repeal monsters and reads the time. He sighs and lets his head fall back onto the chair. _It's always the quests that take away my napping time, isn't it?_   

 

_Date_ _: Tuesday, August 16_ _, 2016_    
 _Location: Berkshire, United Kingdom_  

     "You're teaching at Hogwarts?" James Potter spins to look at his dad and stepfather. Normally, he ignores the breakfast conversations, too grumpy to bother paying attention, but this is not a normal situation. "You can't! You'll embarrass us!"  

     Draco and Harry chuckle into their coffee mugs. James's reaction was probably the most predictable. As the oldest one, currently in his seventh year at Hogwarts, it's probably a nightmare to have not one, but _two_ of his parents teaching at his school.  

     "C'mon. It can't be _that_ bad," Lily says, taking a large drink out of her hot chocolate. 

     "That's because you're a tiny second year who hasn't felt the embarrassment of overprotective parents yet," Scorpius mutters into his own tea cup.  

     Albus gives a nod beside him and says, "I second that. It's a majority decision. You can't teach Hogwarts." The green-eyed menace gives his parents a charming smile, reminding them vaguely of Lockhart. They say just that and receive a death-glare. "I'm no incompetent fool and, while I may not claim my father's over-abundant amount of achievements, I'm certainly not without my merits. Lockhart can't say that much about himself, now, can he?  

     Harry scowls at his son's response while his husband gives a loud laughter. "He got you there, Harry," Draco comments as he sits up straighter in his chair and prepares for explanations. 

     "Anyway...why did you both choose to teach?" Lily asks excitedly as she completely forgets about the hot chocolate that she was drinking before.  

     Both of them give vague shrugs. The two men have never had much interest in teaching, both enjoying their respective jobs, but death and illness are depressing side-effects of their jobs. It was time to move on. When Minerva had offered them their two favorite positions simultaneously, it had been an offer they couldn't resist. Plus, neither could deny that they had other motives for their actions. After Harry's continuous stream of cases concerning ex-Death Eaters—targeting traitors, war heroes, and families of such—and Draco's constant treatment of injured victims, there was no way that they could continue going through their jobs without worrying about the safety of their children.   

     Albus seems to notice the furrow in the brunette's eyebrows, and goes uneasy. A lot of people have told Albus that he looks a lot like Harry, and Albus only gets that type of expression when he has ulterior motives on his mind. Important ones, like when Scorpius and him were worried enough about their dads' loneliness that they forced them to hook up. 

     "Dad..." Albus starts, knowing that this might have to do with the protection of his siblings and him. "Would this have anything to do with that so-called Black Viper group?" 

     Harry sputters in shock and starts coughing. Draco pats him on the back, drinking from his own coffee in the meantime. "How did you find out about that, Albus?" Harry asks his son with a narrowed gaze. 

    Scorpius and Albus look at each other while James and Lily give them the same inquiring expressions, and then look back at their dads. They give Draco and Harry sheepish smiles, and the two men shoot out their own guesses. "Scorpius. Albus. Did you two go looking through my case files again?" Harry asks them speculatively. He loves the two. He really does, but perhaps he should try harder with his locking and warding spells. Unfortunately, it's only those two that go sneaking through his things. The other two are content staying out of important documents if they know that they're not supposed to be there.  

    The blond looks towards a picture to his left, rubbing his neck, and mutters. "Maybe..." Meanwhile, Albus looks down at his lap, a guilty look on his face but the sheepish grin clearly still there. 

    Harry sighs and rubs his temples. "I should've known you two would've found out eventually." He looks at Lily and James and says, "Did you two know about this?" 

Both of them shake their heads and go back to enjoying their breakfasts. Harry looks at his son and his step-son, then slams his head on the back of the chair.  

    Draco chuckles lightly and rubs Harry's back as he says, "I think it's alright that they know. It isn't as if they'll go giving out the Ministry's secrets to everyone at Hogwarts." Draco speculates that for a bit, turns his head towards the fifteen-year-olds, and, with a blond eyebrow raised, asks, "You won't. Right?" 

    Both Scorpius and Albus shake their heads quickly. They know the limits, and giving away Ministry secrets is certainly surpassing them. Anyway, this isn't anyone else's problem. It's their family that needs the most protection.  

    Scorpius leans back in his chair and sighs. "Father, we're entering out fifth year starting in a month. You should have at least told us that you were worried about our safety. Anyway, it isn't like we aren't worried about yours. We've seen those case files. Before today, we were scared that you guys would be getting involved, directly and indirectly," he says staring at Harry and Draco, respectively. 

    "Yeah. Our dads our two of the most involved people of the Second Wizard War, both of them enemies of death eaters. We're young, not oblivious," Albus adds on. 

    Draco sighs. "It doesn't matter now. The wards at Hogwarts will keep those fanatics out," he says bitterly. He doesn't like remembering the war and opts to change the subject. "Aren't you more worried about what classes we'll be teaching you? It might mean certain doom." He grins at Harry, and Harry grins back. 

    "No. It's pretty obvious," Scorpius says, rolling his grey eyes. Not everyone seems to agree, though. James has a speculative eyebrow raised at his parents and would much rather know which classes he should consider dropping.  

    Harry swallows another mouthful of his coffee. It isn't his favorite morning drink, but it wakes him up better than any tea he can find locally. "Why's that?" he asks as he sets his mug down. 

    "Dad, you're an Auror for the Ministry and your favorite class was Defense Against the Dark Arts but you always had, 'Bloody terrible teachers,'" Lily says, mimicking quotation marks with her fingers.  

    "And father's a healer and grandpa Lucius is always bragging about how he got perfect Os on his O.W.L.S. in Potions," Scorpius says while flinging a piece of toast in his hand. "It couldn't be more obvious." 

    "Glad you guys think you know us so well," Harry mutters. 

    "I have to give them one, though. You we're always the best at DADA," Draco grins back. 

    "And absolutely horrendous at Potions. Sometimes, I can't even blame Snape for having been as hostile as he was," Harry replies with a tint of nostalgia. Even years after, Harry wishes he would have had the opportunity to have known Severus as his mother's friend rather than his father's enemy. 

    Draco is about to say something else when they hear a pecking on the dining room window. Harry stands up and straightens out his black trousers before opening the window. A tan owl, larger than usual and with a piercing stare, perches itself on the windowsill. Harry gives it a treat and grabs the letter in its claws. 

     "What's the letter about, dad?" Lily asks as he walks towards the sink. 

     Harry reads through the letter. The owl belongs to McGonagall, so he had no guessing to do there. He's more worried as to why they are receiving an owl so soon after their last call. 

_Harry and Draco_ _,_    
 _I_ _would_ _like_ _the_ _both_ _of_ _you_ _to_ _come_ _in_ _for_ _a_ _quick_ _meeting_ _at_ _two_ _this_ _afternoon_ _._ _It_ _is_ _mandatory_ _for_ _you_ _to_ _come_ _._ _Thank_ _you_ _._    
 _With_ _Sincerity_ _,_    
 _Minerva_ _McGonagall_  

     "We have a meeting this afternoon with McGonagall," Harry replies to Scorpius's question. 

 

_Location: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and_ _Wizardry_  

If there's one thing Minerva McGonagall misses about being a professor, it's that she never had to deal with the Ministry's bullshit. No matter how hard she focuses, the paperwork in front of her fades of out existence as her mind once again starts wandering back to the mail she received late last night. She's not opposed to the Ministry, but that's only when they don't decide to accept foreign students without asking the headmistress of the only wizarding school in the United Kingdom if it's _okay with her_.  

     She doesn't realize her mind is wandering until the flames beside her flair up and a voice calls out to her, "Minerva, we're ready to come in," says the voice of Harry Potter, or Malfoy, as she must constantly remind herself nowadays. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she still hasn't come to accept the mind-boggling relationship between the two former rivals.  

    "Pass through," she simply says. She might have used their last names, but it was still somewhat awkward. She didn't bother, mostly because she might habitually use their separate last names. 

    "Thank you, professor," she hears another voice, slightly more tenor than the first, say. It still shocks her how soft-spoken the blond is now compared to when those two were in school. _But he's also no longer an arrogant,_ _naïve_ _brat._  

     As the two men pass through the floo network, she stacks up the remaining paperwork. The pair walk around her and sit in the two chairs on the other side of her desk. Harry is dressed in some of his better Auror robes while Draco's robes are made of silky black and silver cloth.Harry seems to be calm and prepared for the conversation ahead, but Draco is nervous, his leg jumping up and down. Minerva can't really blame him. Trauma like the type he experienced immediately before, during, and after the war would make one insecure and afraid of rejection. 

     In this case, rejection is not their reason for being there. "I'm glad the two of you could make it," Minerva starts, and the two men nod. 

     She can feel the tension in the air lighten, but still decides to remind them that they are adults now and had no reason to fear her. "How have your children been?" Minerva asks as she takes the first paper on top of the pile and pretends to read it.  

     Harry gives a chuckle. "James is as embarrassed of every small thing as always. Scorp and Al can't seem to keep themselves out of trouble, and Lily is as curious as always. I think James got his characteristics out of his mother, cause I don't believe I ever had the time to be embarrassed about anything except Rita Skeeter's articles." 

     Minerva scowls and says, "Thank Merlin that that menace of a reporter got arrested for her animagus form. Only a vile woman uses such a sacred form of magic for something like _eavesdropping_." 

     Harry chuckles. "Ginny and James can both clearly tell you how happy I was that day. That bitch blackmailed me with my family. I can't believe she was stupid enough to think that I wouldn't report her straight to the Office of Improper Use of Magic." 

     "Harry, even _I_ can tell you how happy you were that day every time you goad about how you finally managed to kick Rita Skeeter out of your life," Draco says from beside him. "Anyway, why were we called in so soon?" Draco asks, patiently, but with an uncharacteristically shy tone. Minerva can see the nervousness rolling off of the blond the longer she stalls their conversation. 

     Minerva gives a sigh. "You two are the last teachers to be notified of something new that is happening this year, and I want you to help me with this," she says, and they stiffen. 

     "What's being instated this year?" Harry asks, his eyebrows furrowed. New at Hogwarts usually means trouble, even in regards to teachers up until the end of the war.  

     "It's a foreign exchange program, apparently. I haven't gotten much information from the Ministry, but they almost automatically approved the case file," Minerva says as she looks at them sternly, all signs of amusement now off of her face. 

     "Foreign exchange? We've never had anything of the sorts at Hogwarts," Draco speaks up immediately, straightening himself out as well. 

     "Yes, Draco. I realize that, but the Ministry has already approved the case. It's out of my hands," Minerva tells him. When no questions come, she continues her explanation. 

     "The students are coming from New York City, from a small regional school called Hecate Academy of Magic. I haven't been told much about them, but I have some personal records on them already stored up. While I don't want to doubt these students, I also don't want to be accepting anyone dangerous without having lookouts in the school," Minerva says calmly as she reaches into a small crevice in her desk and grabs several file folders. 

     "You want _us_ to be the lookouts?" Draco scoffs as he looks at the headmistress wide-eyed. He did not mean to be rude, but not many people trusted him with things, especially not headmistresses of important schools. 

     "Yes, Draco," the headmistress replies, ignoring his tone. "I would like the two of you to watch the exchange students. If they cause trouble, you have the ability to stop them. Their files do not point out any risks, but I doubt that they aren't up to something. I want to know why they are coming and who they really are. The Ministry is not known for being very truthful, and I doubt I am receiving all of it in these documents." 

     Draco and Harry nod in agreement as they take the folders off the headmistress's desk and start looking through them. 

     The first case that appears is a young male entering seventh year. "Perseus? As in the Greek myth?" Draco comments as he looks through his file. He looks...relatively normal. Actually, very laid back, a lot like how Harry is nowadays around their children. 

     "This kid seems like any normal teenager," Harry replies. They look at the notes at the bottom of the page. _Dyslexic_ _. Attention_ _Defici_ _t_ _Hyperactiv_ _ity_ _Disorder. Strengths in combat and elemental magic_. Both men furrow their eyebrows. It's rare when disorders are actually marked, considering that wizards can't be diagnosed the same way as muggles. 

     "Why are there mental disorders listed here?" Draco asks McGonagall. 

     "I do not know. The Ministry said that their school registered them with those disorders," the headmistress replies. 

     They simply nod and then look through the rest. A dark-haired fifth year boy with a strength in mind magics (Harry whistles as he wonders about this school's expectations). A blond-haired sixth year boy with healing abilities and a strength in potions (Draco smirks). A dark-skinned fourth year girl with a strength in alchemy (Draco really needs to start researching this school). A registered sixth-year, Asian male animagus (Harry vaguely wonders if they sent their best and brightest). Two more sixth years and another two seventh years. The curly-haired, Latino sixth year boy has a strength in elemental magic and the Cherokee girl has a strength in mental magics. The remaining seventh years are a blond boy and girl, the girl marked as highly intelligent with strengths in arithmancy and ancient runes and the boy marked as having a strength in elemental magic. 

     Harry and Draco find it highly dubious that all of them are marked with the same two mental disorders. The strength in combat isn't unusual. Some schools do teach non-magic fighting. But the diseases are not normal. Something is going on, and the Ministry doesn't seem willing to tell them. "We'll watch them," Harry says after looking at all of their files. "There's relevant information missing here, and I believe that it has to do with their identities. Not only are they all marked with the same two disorders, but they're all missing the identity of at least one of their parents. 

     Minerva nods. "Thank you. If you can, please find out their reasons for coming here, especially when it seems as if their school has already taught them the most they can possibly know." Harry and Draco nod, then leave. Minerva can only wish them the best of luck. An ominous feeling has entered the air again. 


	3. Spending a Year at a Wizard School Would Be Great If I Didn't Have Priorities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has an urge to go, but their own priorities and feelings threaten to hold them back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is not proving that I won't be able to update as much as I did for the last chapter, but I was really eager for you guys to read this. I think posting stuff makes me more motivated to actually write, because I'm getting more work done on this fanfiction than I am on an actual book. That, or I'm just obsessed with these two fandoms. Haha xD
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I feel like it's another boring one, but I also feel like it had to be added. Hopefully, I didn't rush things. I sometimes feel that my timing is off, so I'm sorry if it actually did do that. Other than that, enjoy!
> 
> P.S. I hate transferring test from Evernote to AO3, cause then I have to manually go back and fix the messed up formatting. Anyone have any suggestions for other programs that also carry mobile platforms and that don't make transferring nearly as messy?

__Camp__   _Jupiter_   _-_   _New_   _Rome_

    Percy and Annabeth are sitting in their new home, a small apartment that they are being allowed to use together as they study at the University of New Rome. It's small, but they find comfort in the fact that having all of their friends together leaves little space for anything else in the living room. They are currently watching something on the television in the room, but neither of them is really into the show. They're both busy trying to figure out what they want to do the next year.

    If they leave now, they will have to come back and catch up next year, if not the second semester of this one at earliest. It will set their plans behind, and they're worried that means being unable to follow some of their own dreams. After all, they're  _still_  Greek demigods and the danger that they might die on this quest still exists. Chiron reassured them that they should be able to come out of this one unscathed, but neither Percy nor Annabeth was so sure.

    "Do you think this quest is going to cause enough trouble in the end that it just isn't worth it?" Annabeth asks Percy as she messes with her Camp Half-Blood necklace.

    Percy knows exactly how much Annabeth wants to go. She wants to learn of this mysterious world. One would think that, after all she and Percy have been through, they would want to leave the mysteries of the world to someone else, but that didn't seem like the case.

    Percy stays silent for a moment. "I don't know," he responds quietly. "Nico could handle it by himself if he wanted to, but for Chiron to call in nine of us at once worries me."

    "Maybe it's a precaution. Or for moral support inside of that school. I doubt we're going to be finding any Greeks in those hallways," Annabeth replies, staring up at the ceiling of the room and snuggling closer to Percy.

    "You might be right. But what about when we get back? Catching up in might be a struggle in your major," Percy says as he looks down into her grey eyes, now more emotional rather than calculating. 

    Annabeth then blushes profoundly and Percy narrows his eyes. "You've already thought up something, haven't you?"

    Annabeth looks down at her legs rather at him. "Maybe..."

    Percy sighs and gives and lovestruck chuckle. "You know I'll support you in whatever decision you make, wise girl. Anyway, a year in a foreign world might help me figure out what major I want to follow," Percy tells her affectionately.

    Annabeth only blushes more. "I was thinking that we could get the Hecate cabin back at Camp Half-Blood to enchant two of the monster-proof laptops to work in magic areas. Chiron told us that technology won't work there, but if I can get something done here while I'm doing the quest abroad, that would be really helpful."

    Percy shakes his head teasingly. "Only  _you_  would take on twice the workload on a quest. Although I think some of the others might appreciate your idea, especially Will and Piper, who have fully functioning lives outside of camp."

    "So you don't mind?" Annabeth asks as she stares at him.

    Truthfully, he did mind. He's tired of quests, more so than the rest. Being a main factor in two wars does that to a person. Especially when that person started the end of one, but he didn't want to trample on Annabeth's curiosity. Being a half-blood has held her back so many times, and Percy didn't want to give her a reason to let it hold her back this time.

    "No. Go ahead and accept the quest for the both of us, if you want," Percy replies and he squeezes her shoulder.

    Annabeth is silent for a moment. "Thanks."

    "Sure, sure. Now, is it just me or is this movie insanely boring?" Percy asks as he looks at the screen. Two people are talking in a coffee shop and one seems to be flirting with the other.

    "No, it's definitely boring," Annabeth replies. Percy chuckles again and opts to change the channel. Maybe the quest ahead isn't really what they were planning on, but Percy would make the most of it. 

 _Camp_   _Half-Blood_

    "That's great!" Piper responds into the iris message as Annabeth tells her of the plans she and Percy made. Piper hasn't told Jason yet, but she is thinking of accepting the quest. She has had enough of the mortal world and a year in some school of magic didn't sound half bad.

    "I'm glad you like the idea. The only problem is that I have no idea where we're going to get four laptops. I have one, but that one hasn't been given a monster-proof microchip yet. Leo will probably only let us take out a maximum of two since their cabin, as well as several others, use them for day to day activities. At this point, we're still missing one for Will to use, if he accepts the quest," Annabeth replies from the iris message.

    Piper jumps into the air as a tenor voice behind her speaks awfully close to her ear. "Will has a laptop," Nico says as he pours himself a cup of coffee. The guy can't go an hour without coffee, but that is not the point right now.

    "Nico! You need to warn people when you go places. I'm surprised you haven't given anyone a heart attack yet," Piper says as she turns toward the kid.

    Nico smirks and says, "I wouldn't say that I haven't given  _anybody_  a heart attack."

    Piper settles for smacking him on the arm rather than scolding him. "Damn, you can hit," he mutters. "I was just joking."

    Before Piper can say anything else, Annabeth speaks up behind her. "Nico, you said Will has a laptop, right?"

    "Yeah. He asked Leo for the microchip weeks ago, at the beginning of camp," Nico answers after taking a sip of coffee.

    "Do you know if he's planning on accepting the quest?" Annabeth asks him as she fiddles with her camp necklace.

    "Last I heard, he was worried his mom might not like the idea, especially with the fact that he's aiming for a medical career," Nico replies with confusion laced in his voice. "Why does that matter?"

    "I don't have time to tell you, right now. Sorry! But Piper can update you with the details on the abroad program. Anyway, Percy and I were supposed to be heading to my dad's house fifteen minutes ago. I really have to go. Bye!" Annabeth cuts off the message and Nico is left in confusion as the steam finishes.

    "What was all that about?" Nico asks as he sips from his mug again.

    "Annabeth promised her dad that they would go to lunch with him today, but Percy was running late in the shower. She took that as an opportunity to Iris message me about their plans for the next year," Piper says as she takes a seat in one of the chairs in front of the ping pong table.

    "They still have five days left including today. Why did they make their decision so early?" Nico asks her as he sits down beside her.

    "Because Annabeth really wants to go and Percy is a love-struck fool," Piper says as she leans back against her chair.

    "What a surprise," Nico mutters into his cup, but there's no malice in it. He has a small smile on his face, and Piper knows that smile is addictive. When he smiles, he looks far younger and more innocent. Piper smiles as well.

    "Annabeth said that they talked to Reyna and Frank. Apparently, the University is making an exception for them since they found a method. The camp is working with its children of Vulcan to set up servers and a website so that anyone going on this quest can take their yearly classes online. It'll help keep them on track for graduation and it'll help Will and I stay on track in the American school system. The only problem for them was that we needed at least four laptops for those that have regular lives outside of camp. My problem is that the majority of us  _don't_  have relatively regular lives outside of camp," Piper explains as she closes her eyes.

    "What do you expect from three people that are supposed to be dead, a praetor, and a son of Jupiter that's been in the military since he was seven?" Nico snorts into his cup.

    "Point made, di Angelo," Piper says as she gives her own snort. "Perks of being a demigod, I guess."

    They stay in silence for a while. Nico is comforted by the sense of companionship that he feels around Piper. Rather than push him, the Cherokee daughter of Aphrodite is patient and understanding, helping him resolve his feelings in a way that doesn't harm him or anyone else. The silence is comfortable instead of being stifling.

    "Do you know if you're going to go yet?" Nico asks her as he stares into space.

    Piper thinks for a moment. "I haven't talked to my dad yet, but I don't want to go to mortal school another year. I'm pretty sure I'm going to accept it either way."

    "What about Jason?"

    "He doesn't know yet. He still has a lot of building to do, and that year could be spent building temples. I don't think he's willing to go unless he can get someone to take on his mission while he's at Hogwarts."

    Nico contemplates for a moment. "I know someone who stays all year and is tired of the camp routine. Maybe Jason won't go whatever we do, but I don't think the quest would be the same if there wasn't always a dominance-struggle-slash-bromance thing going on between him and Percy."

    Piper giggles into her coffee mug. "Agreed."

    They go silent for a while longer before Piper takes her turn to ask Nico questions. "Is Will going?"

    Nico sighs. He doesn't want to be away from his boyfriend, the one person that he trusts above all others, excluding Hazel. Will is his anchor, the person that keeps him on the ground when things become too much for him to handle. He doesn't want to leave that behind, but Nico rarely sees Will during the school year anyway.

    "I don't know, Piper. He's still being iffy about it, mainly because of school. I think, with that plan that Percy and Annabeth concocted, he might be willing to spend a year in wizardland, but he doesn't want to leave his mom alone. He could lean either way at this point," Nico replies.

    She hums in understanding. "Have you heard if Frank is going to come? I know he's probably worried about leaving behind some hefty responsibilities."

    "Hazel told me that he's seriously considering the prospect, but that he needs to convince Reyna first that the quest is worth it. While Reyna will probably understand, other members of Camp Jupiter might not be so forgiving," Nico says.

    "So, if I accept the quest, we have three people that are left without a response? I think that's pretty good. Three children of the big three and three more, all part of the seven, is a pretty good pick up for a quest."

    "Yeah, but three of our partners will be missing. Even Leo will be able to take Calypso as our chaperone. I don't have much of a problem with it. Loneliness isn't something new to me, but I feel like those without their partners just wouldn't enjoy their time in a different society," Nico replies.

    Piper sighs. "Yeah, I guess so. Only time will tell if they'll actually agree to the quest, though."

    Nico nods. "Yep. Pretty much." 

 _Two_   _Days_   _Later_

"You're going!?" Piper exclaims to Jason as she stares at him wide-eyed.

    He gives her a composed smile and says, "Yeah. Nico helped me out. One of the campers from Athena is going to go in my stead while I'm gone." At first, Jason wasn't so sure that he wanted to do that, but the boy is intelligent and he loves architecture almost as much as Annabeth.

    "I thought you said you couldn't leave this to someone else?" Piper says in a more composed manner. They're sitting on a couch that Jason decided to drag into the Zeus cabin. After staying in the emptiness of the place, Jason was tired of all the gold. He remolded it, made the cabin more comfortable and homey, and decided to all out cover that creepy statue of Zeus. His father hadn't been very happy at first, but he got over it after a while. Now, the cabin was a hang out area for his friends.

    "I promised the gods that I would do this myself. That's why I had my dad help me get into contact with some of them, and they were okay with me temporarily giving this mission to someone else. I'll have to come back to it eventually, but they were actually pretty happy with Damon. So, I decided things would be okay, and I could go with you guys."

    Piper tackles Jason and squeezes him. "Ow. Piper. You might break one of my ribs," Jason says teasingly as he hugs her back. 

    Piper loosens the hold a bit but doesn't let go. "I'm glad you're coming. I already talked to my dad, and he said it was okay as long as nothing serious happened," Piper speaks as she moves her hands so that they're around Jason's waist rather than his entire body.

    Jason smiles at her. "So I'm guessing this means I get to spend a year seeing everyone and  _not_  worrying about imminent doom?" 

    Piper pulls back and says, "Definitely, and we're going to enjoy every moment of it." The crew hadn't been back together since Gaea's defeat. Piper missed that. While imminent doom is not exactly her favorite memory, the times they spent aboard the  _Argo II_  joking around were more tolerable and even melancholic to her.

    Jason looks over to a certain remodeled cabin of Hades and sees his best friend talking to said best friend's boyfriend. He turns his head and glances at the Hephaestus cabin, where Calypso is carrying a large metal object out of the cabin. The goddess doesn't really have anywhere else to go, so she stays in the Big House and helps around the camp when she isn't carrying objects to the forge. "Yeah. Definitely."

_Two Days Before Summer Term Ends_

"Frank, I know you want to go with Hazel on this quest, but you have to realize that my hands are tied. The senators don't want any of their leaders gone for large periods of time," praetor Reyna says as she tugs on her braid. It's one of her most recent habits, but she doesn't really mind. 

    "I know, Reyna. I'll try to come back as soon as possible, but I feel like I have to go. Something has been bothering me about it. There's something suspicious going on here, and I want to find out," Frank replies as he looks at Reyna.

    Reyna mentally sighs. If Frank wanted to, he could announce that he was leaving without her permission. If they knew that it was for a requested quest from one of the gods, the senators wouldn't bother him about it. The problem is that Frank doesn't have the self-confidence to do that yet, and he wants reassurance that he can do it.

    "What exactly bothers you about it, Frank? If you can explain to me clearly, I'll let you leave, as long as you deal with the senate yourself," Reyna compromises. She isn't going to let him do whatever he wants, at least not without forcing him to boost his self-esteem a bit. 

    "I don't know, Reyna. The day I received the quest, I got a bad feeling at the pit of my stomach. Something is going to go horribly wrong and I don't want to ignore that feeling," the Asian before her says. She stares at him for a moment.  _This big guy really has matured_ , she thinks to herself as she sighs. 

    Reyna can't really reject Frank in his ideas. She knows better than anyone that demigod intuition will keep them alive and relatively safe. If Frank felt something, that means something is definitely going to happen and someone needs to be warned about it. She could always tell him to warn Hazel and the rest, but Reyna doubts that the intuition is something completely demigod-based. Something tells her that his godly parent might be meddling in this a bit too much and trying to give him a heads up about an oncoming danger.

    "Fine, but  _you_  have to deal with the senate, Frank. You're a praetor. Have some self-confidence and courage, and the senate will have no reason to argue with you," Reyna tells him. She can see almost immediately as he becomes slightly discouraged at the thought of having to deal with the people that might try to stop him.

    "But-" he starts, but Reyna doesn't let him finish.

    " _Frank_. Be brave. Those senators can only touch you if you've done something wrong. You have done nothing, so go and confront them. Rules exist here for a reason," she tells him.

    He opens his mouth to say something else, but decides against it. Instead, Frank gives a stiff nod, gives a goodbye salute, and exits through the door. Once he's far away enough, she smirks and mutters, "Go get 'em, tiger."

_Less Than 24 Hours Before End_

"Mom, I don't want to leave you behind. You're alone all summer as it is. I don't want you feeling lonely until Christmas," Will says as he furrows his eyebrows. He really doesn't like the idea of being so far away from his mom, but he's also extremely curious. This magical world is something new, and he wants to know something about it. It's as if a string is tugging him to go, but he still hasn't decided if he's brave enough to listen to something so strange. 

    "Will, you know I'll be okay. I love you and support you. If you really want to go to this school, go ahead. Just make sure you stay updated in the 'real world' as well," his mom, a beautiful woman with wide almond eyes and hair the color of cottonwood, says, mockingly adding air quotes around the words "real" and "world."

    "But mom. I'm going to be gone for at least four months. I don't want you feeling like there's no one there for that much time," Will replies, looking straight into the Iris message at his mother.

    Sometimes he feels as if she deserves better. After she received her Doctorate's degree life got significantly easier for the two of them, but they were in a constant state of poverty before that. He doesn't want to make life harder for her by leaving her alone.

    " _Will_. I have long hours at work and I have friends that I can talk to," she insists. Then, musing to herself, she murmurs, "I might even consider getting back into the dating scene. That doctor from the pediatrics ward had a pretty good looking butt..."

    " _Mom_. I don't need the visual!" Will exclaims as he feels the heat rise into his face.

    "Oh, shush. You were probably imagining the same thing I was," she says in that "I'm-being-stern-but-you-can-obviously-tell-I'm-joking" way.

    Will decides now is a pretty good time to change the topic. "Okay. Say I do accept the quest. There's always the possibility that I might be sucked into a fight. Aren't you worried about that?"

    His mom looks at him with a look that has "Are you kidding me?" written all over it. "Will, you're  _always_  in danger, no matter where you are. Just stay alive and promise you'll come back to me. I know what you're doing right now. You're just like me. You're  _trying_  to discourage yourself. Don't do that, Will. I can see how curious you are. Go along with the rest and come back to me once you're satisfied."

    Will lets that sink in.  _She's right_. She should be the one asking him these questions, not the contrary. He's always been reluctant to try out new things, especially after the death of his cabin mates. He doesn't want to risk the lives of anyone else and prefers to keep people alive than lead them into death.

    Will sighs. "Alright. But I will Iris message you whenever possible and I want replies to my emails, mom. You're not the only one that's going to get worried."

    His mom gives him a knowing smile. "Don't worry, Will. I'll keep you updated on life at home."

    He smiles back. "Thanks, mom. I really appreciate it."

    "Nothing is too much for my son," she says, then waves goodbye. "I hate to say bye so early, but I'm supposed to help out with a surgery in less than an hour. I love you and I'll send you an email later. Bye, sweetie."

    "Bye, mom," Will says just before the Iris message fades out.

    He stares at the mist coming from the sprinklers in the Demeter cabin in silence. The people of this cabin usually leave him alone whenever he talks to his mom, so he jumps five feet into the air and yelps in a very much  _manly_  way (he has too much pride to admit that the screaming was indeed a high-pitched squeal) when he hears a voice behind him say, "That went well, huh?"

    Will turns around, ignoring the heat rising to his face, and sees a boy in all black with skin the color of light olives. "Nico! Did you shadow travel here again?" Will questions as his boyfriend (he won't admit it, but the word alone sends his heart racing into the wind) smirks before him.

    "No. You were just awfully distracted and I didn't want to interrupt your conversation," Nico replies as he turns his skull ring. It used to be a nervous habit, but, nowadays, it's more of an unconscious habit.

    Will rolls his eyes. "Only you could pop out of nowhere and scare the pants off of someone because they didn't notice you," he says jokingly.

    Nico smirks. "Piper accused me of almost giving her a heart attack earlier this week, if that comforts you at all."

    Will laughs. "Well, what did she expect from you? You aren't exactly the most  _obvious_ person in the world."

    Nico's heart speeds up temporarily at the smile Will gives him. When he fails to will away his body's reaction, Nico shakes his head and says, "Yes, because children of Hades several decades older than you are supposed to be loud, noisy, and in your face."

    Will laughs again, but opts for changing the topic. He knows Nico is joking, but this is treading into dangerous territory. "Has the Hecate cabin come up with a way to get technology to work with magic and electricity?"

    "Yeah. I was just coming from there. They told me to tell everyone that you should get any technology you're taking with you enchanted to work with magic. They had enough trouble just getting the two forms of power to coexist and are pretty sure that what Chiron told us about technology not working around extreme amounts of magic is true," Nico says as he leans on his Stygian iron sword.

    Will nods. "Now I can get my laptop and cellphone over there," he says.

    Nico's eyes widen. "You're going!?"

    Will stares at him in a puzzled manner. "I thought you heard the entire conversation?"

    "Yeah, I did, but you doubt yourself so much sometimes that I didn't think you would actually accept the quest," Nico says as he starts spinning his skulls ring faster, pink color lightly dusting his face.

    Will smiles. "I am going," he says softly.

    Will sees as tension rolls off of Nico's shoulders in waves. He knows the boy is still self-conscious and afraid people will leave him. Will walks up to the son of Hades and takes his hand, which earns him a surprised flinch. While Nico has learned to trust Will, he hasn't yet gotten used to physical contact after years of rejecting the company of the living.

    "After all," Will says softly, "I wouldn't want my boyfriend to go all alone."

    Nico blushes profoundly and looks away. "Whatever, Solace. Let's just go get that lunch you promised me."

    Will laughs. He was going to miss his mom, but a year around Nico didn't sound half bad. He would enjoy this.

 _Morning_ _of_ _Term_ _End_

"Percy! You could have told me before!" Sally Jackson exclaims through the Iris message as Annabeth giggles from behind the steam.

Annabeth thinks Sally is both Percy's clone and his foil. While she has the same temper and is as stupidly brave as her son, Sally is also normally calm and composed, as well as much more tactful. Her hair and eyes are brown and blue, respectively, but the way she carries herself has some resemblance to the way her son carries himself: with dignity.

    "I'm sorry, mom! I swear I was going to tell you earlier, but I completely forgot about the quest until the morning," he replies to her, but she doesn't listen.

    "I'm under the belief that my son's going to be studying in a normal college for a normal career, and then you come and tell me that you've accepted a year-long quest in _ _Scotland__ _._  I'm not very happy, you know," she says, furrowing her eyebrows.

    "I know. I'm sorry. I should have told you, but it's too late," Percy replies calmly. "On the bright side, I actually will be going to college. Just on a computer in Scotland," Percy compromises.

    Sally narrows her eyes at her son. Then, she sighs. "Percy, haven't you been on enough quests to last you a lifetime?"

    Percy grins bashfully. "Well, yes, but this quest is more easy-going and Chiron has reassured us that there shouldn't be many problems if we retrieve the missing item quickly."

    Sally studies her son's eyes, then gives a nod. "Alright. You're old enough and experienced enough to make your own decisions. If you want to go, go ahead. But be careful, sweetie. I don't want you getting hurt unnecessarily."

    Percy nods enthusiastically. "I promise, I'll be home safe and sound. We have a break at Christmas, so I'll try to get a plane ticket home."

    Sally is about to say something else when Annabeth says, "Sorry, Mrs. Jackson, but we have a meeting with Chiron in a few minutes. Percy and I have to go."

    Sally smiles softly. "That's fine, Annabeth. Take care of our seaweed brain and don't let him get in trouble."

    Percy groans at his nickname. It caught on quickly at his household and he hasn't been able to rid himself of it since. In all honesty, though, he doesn't really mind it because he knows that's just how his friends and family show their affection.

    "I love you, mom."

    "I love you, too, Percy. Bye," Sally says, waving her hand.

    "Bye, mom," he says as she swipes her hand across the water she's using as her messenger.

_Meeting_

"So everyone's going?" Chiron asks like normal, but the way the centaur moves his tail proves that he is being a smug jerk.

    "You knew everyone was going to accept, didn't you?" Jason asks with his eyes narrowed at the centaur.

    "I sent your files to Britain's Ministry of Magic two weeks ago," Chiron says as he stands on the other side of the ping pong table.

    Everyone groans. They aren't exactly happy to be playing into the hands of the man, but they've already made up their minds and there's no going back now. 

    "You played us like a guitar," Percy says as he slams his head on the surface of whatever is currently delivering their Iris message.

    "No, I didn't actually do anything outside of piquing your curiousity. You were the ones that made the final decision," Chiron replies wisely.

    Nico rolls his eyes. He knew they were all going to accept in the first place. There were more important plans to discuss than why the centaur was so smug.

    "How are we going to get onto the train anyway?" Nico asks, leaning back in his chair.

    Chiron shifts nervously, the smugness gone. "You aren't going to like it," he says quickly. Several demigods narrow their eyes, and then they all figure out what he's talking about.

    "No!" exclaims Percy at the same time that Nico says, "No way in hell!"

    Annnabeth and Will roll their eyes. They have been on airplanes several times and nothing serious has ever happened. Then again, their parents weren't Zeus's rivals.

    "What else can we do?" Chiron asks. "Taking a boat would take a week at the least, plus the time you spend at customs."

    The campers all go silent with knowledge as they stare at Nico. When Chiron doesn't seem to get it, Nico says, "Hazel and I could shadow travel anyone who refuses to take an airplane, and Mrs. O'Leary can be called to help us take luggage."

    Chiron looks uncomfortable with the idea. "Nico, I'm not really sure we should consider that a serious idea. Do you even know how to get to King's Cross Station?"

    Nico gives a small nod. "I ended up in London once by accident and decided to do some tourism. If I show Hazel where it is, we should be just fine." He looks over to his younger sister, who gives a reassuring nod. 

    Chiron shifts from foot to foot, then sighs. "Who would like to shadow travel to London?"

    Percy is the first with his hand up. Will tentatively raises his as well, and Frank follows afterwards. Annabeth, Leo, Jason, and Piper keep their hands down, all deciding on the airplane instead. Nico nods. 

    "Three people and some luggage. I think we should be okay. But we should leave from the same spot. That way, we can double check we have everything before we arrive in London. Also, you guys," Nico says, looking at the campers in the Roman camp, "are going to need to get the magic enchantment for any technology you have and are going to have to get the monster-repelling chip installed."

    "When did you become the planner of this quest?" Annabeth asks jokingly as she swings hers and Percy's hands. 

    Nico sends her a glare. "When I wanted to be able to listen to music in a place where iPods don't work."

    Annabeth nods. "Good reasoning. Speaking of which, can Piper and Percy borrow two of the Hephaestus cabin laptops, Leo?"

    "Yeah, sure. Don't break them. Don't do something stupid to them unless I give you permission to. Don't forget them at Hogwarts. Follow those rules and you'll be fine. If not, there's some serious consequences for losing those state-of-the-art puppies," Leo replies. He sends everyone a glare to make a point, and Piper and Percy nod with a gulp. There's nothing Leo cares about more than technology, except maybe his mom and Calypso.

    Annabeth nods as well. Then, she asks, "Chiron, are we going to have to get an airplane ticket to New York, or should Hazel and Mrs. O'Leary just shadow travel us there?"

    "That's up to you. Just be here on the twenty-eighth. That way you have time to make final preparations. The Ministry has already sent a packet of exchange currency. Their currency are knuts, sickles, and galleons and I'll give each of you enough to get your school supplies, get hotel rooms in Wizarding London, and survive you the rest of the year. Shadow travelers will leave on the night of the thirtieth and those going on airplane will leave on noon that day. You'll use the thirty-first to do your shopping, and the train leaves on September first," Chiron explains. Everyone nods.

    Before everyone leaves, Leo speaks up. "Just wondering, but I've been hearing a lot about this Mrs. O'Leary. Who is she?"

    The oldest campers -- Annabeth, Percy, Nico, and Will -- as well as Chiron all give a small chuckle. "We forgot that the newest campers don't know about her," Percy says with a smile on his face. "Nico, don't you think this is easier to show them?" Meanwhile, Hazel and Frank try to keep serious faces, but fail as smirks pop up on their own faces.

    Nico smirks. "Those of you that came after the war with Kronos can follow me," Nico says as he walks out the door.

    While Nico walks outside to call Mrs. O'Leary, Frank asks, "How surprised do you think they'll be?" He's looking outside and trying to get a look at what's going on. All of the other campers are just as curious to see what the reactions of the newer campers will be.

    "We'll see," Percy says with a smirk. He hasn't seen Mrs. O'Leary since their quest to Alaska and is excited to make sure that she's okay.

    "It'll be nice to see her again. She never came back to camp after she left during the time Percy was missing. I wonder where she went to take refuge," Will muses as he thinks back to Mrs. O'Leary's time at camp. He hasn't ever interacted one-on-one with the creature, but most people at camp were fond of her. Sometimes they got annoyed when one of her innocent antics got someone covered in dog pee or spit, but even those were somewhat pleasant memories amongst the war. 

    "I don't know. Probably somewhere in the underworld. I wonder  _why_ she never went back to camp. That was basically her home for about two years," Percy replies as he tries to look outside the door.

    "Maybe it's because both Charles and you had disappeared. I think that's a lot of the reason why she continued to reside at camp, after all," Annabeth theorizes. 

    "Yeah, but that wouldn't explain why she came back after the war," Percy says, his eyebrows now furrowed with worry. 

    Annabeth is about to say something when, suddenly and with the lungs of an opera singer, Nico yells, "MRS. O'LEARY!!!"

    All of the campers outside except Nico himself are startled as a hellhound appears in front of them. They all prepare to attack when Mrs. O'Leary jumps in Nico's direction and licks him. He laughs and tries to calm her down.

     "Yeah, it's good to see you too. I missed you, too. C'mon, meet the new guys," Nico says as he points to everyone, his clothes now covered in slobber.

    The three in front of the hellhound share mirror expressions of shock and awe. They stare at her for a few seconds before Leo steps up to her and starts petting her. For a moment, the hellhound stares at him suspiciously, but excitedly jumps at him afterwards. Leo doesn't back out of the way, instead hugging her neck as she proceeds to lick him senseless. He laughs, and Piper and Jason relax, but their expressions remain awed. 

    "You have a pet  _hellhound_?" Jason asks in astonishment.

    Nico nods. "The campers used to take care of her during the war with Kronos. I haven't seen her in an eternity, and I almost feel bad that we're going to make her travel all the way to London. She tires more easily than I do."

    "She used to send me some campers when she was here," Will states with a laugh. "It was weird not having her here at first since we were all so accustomed to seeing her around camp. I think everyone kind of missed her when she never came back one day."

    Annabeth and Percy both nod. "Do you really think she can get us to London?" Percy asks Nico as he furrows his eyebrows. He knows that Mrs. O'Leary has probably gained more resistance to the exhaustion shadow travel causes since last time he saw her, but he didn't want to risk it.

    "She'll be fine. I promise you. And I think everyone using this method will enjoy the ride," Nico says, a creepy smile forming on his face. Percy laughs at the inside joke, having experienced the ride before, but he was sure that Frank and Will wouldn't be too fond of the method once they experienced it. Although that depends on how much they enjoy horror movies, and the son of Apollo might try to act tough for his boyfriend anyway.

    As they continue their plans, the campers start to feel the excitement and anxiety that comes along with a new quest. They're nervous, but this is the first time in a long time that a quest is far less dangerous and far more exciting and adventurous. Anticipation fills the air as the demigods prepare to face a challenge in a new world thousands of miles away.


	4. Family Visits and Initiating Quests

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco visit Malfoy Manor and the demigods begin their quest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, I'm getting so many kudos and bookmarks on this 0.0 Thank you so much for giving this fic a chance. I really appreciate that you read it. I hope you stay until the end (you'll have to stay a while).  
> So, this wait was a first glimpse at what to expect once I have to go back to school in approximately three weeks. Yay....  
> Anyway, I FINALLY got to writing this chapter. I think I experienced a slight bit of writer's block because I honestly had NO idea how to start this chapter. I went through three edits until I was finally happy with what came out. This chapter WAS supposed to include the demigods heading into Diagon Alley, but the chapter was already getting long and I didn't want to write some 15k monstrosity, so the visits will have to wait until the next chapter. Aww =(  
> I hope you guys don't get bored reading this chapter. There's a lot of back story in it, but I felt like I HAD to write it or else no one would know HOW Harry and Draco even got together. I appreciate all kudos and comments that you guys give me and it is an honor to know that people like my story enough to bookmark it =D Anyway, enjoy!

 

    If someone would have told Harry in his sixth year at Hogwarts that he would marry his arch-nemesis and become close friends with Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, he would have laughed in that person's face and considered them mental. Harry was actually sure he went mental when he found himself on the steps of Malfoy Manor two weeks after the Death Eater trials and a week into Narcissa's three month house arrest sentence. Surprisingly, she did not turn him away like he expected her to and instead courteously invited him in for tea. That first week was a sort of ice breaker. Harry had wanted to show his gratitude in some form. After all, had it not been for Narcissa, Harry probably would have never made it out of that forest.

    Narcissa's attitude was different after the war. Before, and even during, the war, Narcissa was very aristocratic, loyal to the pureblood ideals, and arrogant. The war pushed her off of her high horse and made her see that they were all humans under the same rule of one very horrendous Tom Riddle, and that purebloods were just as likely to die as any muggleborn wizard. Her attitude became considerably softer and more accepting. That was probably the one thing that kept Harry coming back the most.

    The next week was when the discussions started. Narcissa confided in Harry, of all people, that the war scared her and part of her was still worried someone would come and rip her family, separated but alive, away from her. Harry was there and listened all the way through. For most of her sentence, that's all that they did. They talked about the war, traded stories and fears, and made each other see their perspectives more clearly. While Harry did not agree with pureblood ideals, he better understood why the Malfoys were so determined to keep them alive. In a similar way, Narcissa was able to understand why pureblood ideals were not quite as idealistic as she thought they were, only Harry was able to convince her of that and make her get away from them.

    After her sentence was over, Narcissa decided to start visiting her husband. Harry started seriously questioning his sanity when he said yes to her request to accompany her. Lucius had received a five year sentence and wasn't getting out of Azkaban anytime soon, but Harry had managed to convince the judge to grant Narcissa visiting privileges as long as she was accompanied by a guard.

    Harry's first interaction with Lucius Malfoy had not gone very well, to say the least. Lucius had taken to swearing at him the entire visit and accuse his wife of being a blood traitor. Narcissa had taken it surprisingly well, later telling Harry that Lucius just needed time to start thinking rationally and start listening to her. She was right. The next few visits were still tense, but Lucius took to ignoring Harry instead. Throughout those, Narcissa explained what Harry had earlier explained to her. Lucius, while not taking it easy, was rational, although Harry suspects that part of it was the fact that he was slowly degrading behind the bars of the gloomy penitentiary. After about a dozen visits, Lucius came around and gave Harry, and being a tolerant human being, a chance.

    When Lucius got out, both Narcissa and Harry were quite ecstatic. Lucius had confessed his own fears and feelings around the third year of his sentence. He admitted to Harry that there was a point in time when he doubted pureblood ideals, but had quickly pushed those doubts down because he was expected to join Voldemort. While reluctantly, Lucius did confess that he had met several talented muggleborn wizards. By the time Lucius was given permission to get out, he seemed tired of life and the world's critical ideals. Harry suspected that Lucius wouldn't have survived the rest of his sentence if it wasn't for Narcissa's constant and loving support.

    The Malfoy parents were determined to rid themselves of any remaining dark magic. The Manor was almost completely destroyed in the process. The wards were redone, dark artifacts were thrown out, and bigoted family portraits were stored away at best, burned at worst. Narcissa made sure that anything reminding the family of their dark heritage was completely destroyed. She wasn't going to let any darkness taint her family again, not after they had committed so many horrible crimes because of it.

    Lucius followed right beside her as he removed his dark mark using a mixture of laser surgery and purification spells, later covering it with a moving tattoo. Harry has never had the chance to see it, not when Lucius kept up his aristocratic appearance, although Harry was sure that was more out of habit than anything else. After all, his attitude was more tame and more willing to give others a chance. Harry almost feared for the man's sanity when he saw him interacting with a house elf for the first time after getting out of Azkaban, but Lucius had reassured him that he was simply doing something he had never bothered doing before: showing kindness to those that deserve it. Even that made him suspicious, but Lucius never showed any signs of mental damage, so Harry never acted upon his suspicions.

    Draco came into the picture several years later. The blond man had served a two year probation sentence, during which he married Astoria Greengrass. Harry knew that they were living in the manor, but Narcissa once told him that Draco had taken to ignoring him, more out of shame rather than spite. Harry tried to apologize to Draco for the incident in the bathroom sixth year and to show his gratitude, but he never could find the man in his own home. When his sentence ended, Draco and his pregnant wife took off for France, hoping to find better opportunities there and Harry didn't hear anything about them until they met again at King's Cross Station eleven years later.

    After asking Narcissa about it, she informed Harry that Astoria and Draco had divorced soon before Scorpius entered school because of Draco's preferences. Harry almost saw that as an opportunity, having been divorced to Ginny for almost three years and experimented with his sexuality by then. It hadn't been that easy.

    Albus made friends with Scorpius almost immediately. Together, they created an unstoppable and troublesome Slytherin duo, the former being highly intelligent (but not as intelligent as his cousin Rose), the latter being a carbon copy of Draco without the aristocratic attitude: sneaky, cunning, and mischevious. Fortunately, that meant that Draco and Harry's strained relationship was one of their targets. Initially, Draco was distant and refused to acknowledge Harry. The grey-eyed man avoided interaction with Harry as much as possible, and often kept to himself whenever he was around a group of people, including his former friends Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini.

    As they were awkwardly forced together by their sons, Draco and Harry came to know more about each other. Harry finally got the change to apologize and show his gratitude. Meanwhile, the closed-off man that hardly resembled the snobby, arrogant prat that Harry had known throughout his school years began confiding in Harry. Harry learned that Draco regretted every decision he made and that he sometimes wished he could go back in time. He learned that Draco had escaped to France because he was too afraid to face those to whom he had caused damage. He learned that the reason Draco came back was not because of the divorce, but because he wished to do something to make it up to all those people that he mistreated several years ago.

    Harry confessed that he didn't like being the center of attention, he wished for nothing more than to disappear half the time, and he wanted everyone to stop being bigoted so long after the war. He confessed that he wished he could go back in time and save those that had died for his sake, or even so far back that he could prevent the war from ever taking place. He finished by saying that he wished he could apologize for being prejudiced against Slytherins, well aware that not all of them fell under the same category that he had placed them in his head, and that he could just befriend them, starting with Draco.

    They knew that Albus and Scorpius had set them up, but they never really regretted it. After that day, Harry helped Draco make amends by being there at his side to support him in each apology, and Draco helped Harry make his own amends in the same way. In the process of letting the past go, they realized that they had to do the same with their own, which was filled with strain, rivalry, and mistrust. They did, and that allowed their relationship to grow even more. Draco and Harry got married in the summer between Albus and Scorpius's third and fourth year.

    This long history between Harry and the Malfoy family is the reason why he is now walking out of the fireplace and holding Draco's hand as he familiarly greets Narcissa and Lucius.

    "Hello, Harry," says the blond-haired woman that is Narcissa as she hugs her son's husband. Harry grins as she does so.

    "It's nice to see you, Narcissa," he says as he hugs her back.

    Harry pulls away and Draco goes in for a greeting. "How have you been, mother?" he asks as he hugs her.

    "I've been fine. Why aren't the boys here, today?" Narcissa says. Both men know that Narcissa is well aware of the custody arrangements, but it's almost customary for her to ask that question at this point.

    "Scorpius is with Astoria this weekend and Albus is under Ginerva's custody this week," says Draco habitually as he pulls back. Ginny had been happy to take equal custody and Astoria wasn't too worried that she would only be getting custody every other weekend. Harry smiles as he thinks of how lucky he is that everything worked itself out among his friends and family. That's when Lucius Malfoy comes into the living room and raises a questioning eyebrow at Harry's dopey expression. Harry straightens himself out almost immediately.

    Lucius's stormy-eyed stare used to scare the life out of Harry until a few years into Harry's accompaniment of Narcissa's visits. Then, it started scaring him again after he and Draco announced they were together. At this point, his fear is irrational and Harry long ago learned to swallow it down. He's known lucius for years and has been on friendly terms with him for so long that it would shock most if they suddenly went back to glaring at each other.

    Harry puts a genuine smile on his face and walks up to Lucius. Lucius gives him one back and they shake hands. "Harry, how have you been."

    "Very well, Lucius. It's good to see you're doing well yourself," Harry replies naturally. Harry pulls his hand back as Draco speaks.

    "Father, how have you been," Draco asks from behind Harry as he gives his father a hug. Lucius gladly accepts it. Human contact is another thing Azkaban prisoners often relish in after getting out.

    "Very well, my son," Lucius says and then pulls back.

    "Let's go into the gardens and have brunch there," Narcissa says, and all three men nod. They walk through the mansion to the back area, where the gardens are.

    The four of them arrive to a small table shaded by a cherry tree in the garden and sit down. Harry is the messiest of the four. While his etiquette is actually one of the best due to his treatment as a child, the Malfoy family members are almost  _too_  stiff. Harry grins. Just another weekend with the family.

    "Twinky!" Narcissa yells, but in the way that a mother would yell at her child from three rooms away rather than their old manner of yelling at the house elves as if the elves are slaves.

    A house elf pops up in front of the table. "What may Twinky do for Mistress Narcissa?"

    "Would you please bring us some tea?" Narcissa asks softly. Twinky nods and _,_  with a  _pop_ _, disappears._

    "How have your jobs been?" Narcissa asks as Lucius picks up a newspaper and starts reading it.

    "Stressful," Harry replies almost immediately as he deals his head into his hands. "Those cases with the former death eaters are giving me several headaches. I'm glad that I get to leave in two weeks. I don't think I can handle much more of those murder trials."

    Harry sees Lucius scowl from the corner of his eyes. No one in their family is very happy that this is still a problem. Lucius scowls every time Harry brings it up, Draco flinches and goes into a state of shame, and Narcissa's expression saddens. Harry, like always, shrinks within himself in discomfort.

    They sit in awkward silence for a few minutes until Twinky comes back and hands them their tea. "Thank you, Twinky," Narcissa says as she takes the tray.

    Twinky bows and disappears. Once everyone has a cup of tea, Narcissa tells Harry, "I'm guessing that you accepted the job at Hogwarts by your response."

    Harry nods. "It's partly because I want to make sure I'm there for Albus and Scorpius, but also because I'm tired of fighting. I've fought for years, before, during, and after the war. I want to get away from that. It just isn't healthy for me to be fighting anymore," he replies.

    "Not to mention that the job offers came together," Draco says, smirking into his tea cup.

    "There's that, also," Harry says with a laugh.

    "When are you taking the boys to Diagon Alley?" Lucius asks them, and Harry is almost surprised by his input. Almost.

    "Draco and I are taking Albus on the thirty-first with Ginny and Astoria. We would go earlier, but our last day isn't until the thirtieth, Ginny and Victor both have games the weekend before the express leaves, and Blaise has a case that weekend. So, like  _every_  year, we're going last minute shopping," Harry replies, rolling his eyes. It's become a tradition for Draco, Harry, Ginny, and Astoria to take the boys the day before the express leaves. "Why do you ask?" he adds.

    "Harry, this is the fourth year in a row. That's a habit that I don't believe you can change. Especially not with the strange family the eight of you make," Lucius says as he continues reading his newspaper.

    "Strange is pretty accurate," Draco murmurs as he takes another sip of his tea.

    Harry punches him lightly on the arm. "How is it my fault that you decided to marry your former nemisis whose ex-wife was shagging your best friend a week after their divorce?"

    Narcissa and Lucius both laugh at Draco's expense. "I believe that was what Scorpius would call a 'burn', sweetie," Narcissa says a few seconds later.

    Draco scowls playfully and proceeds to pretend he doesn't care. Harry repeats his question, curious as to why Lucius asked.

    "Would you mind if we came along with you this year?" Lucius asks, and Harry blinks wide-eyed at him.

    After a few seconds, Harry replies with, "Uh...yeah...sure. As long as you can take a few Weasley glares." Ginny won't be very happy, but she knows that Lucius is Scorpius's grandfather and she can't do much if he wants to accompany the kid.

    Lucius smirks. "I've been taking Weasley glares my entire life, Harry. That's not something new."

    Harry snorts. "You've never seen Ginny's serious glare. I've gotten it three times in my life, and all three times I had to sleep on the couch."

    "She was your wife," Lucius shoots back with a smug smirk on his face.

    Harry gives a hearty laugh. "Touché, Lucius. Touché." He relents and raises his tea cup in surrender.

    "Have you heard any news of what's to be expected this year?" Narcissa asks to stray away from the subject.

    "Minerva called us in two weeks ago to talk to us about something the Ministry is forcing upon her," Harry says as he leans back in his chair. With vague explanations like those usually come questions from Narcissa and Harry at least wants to have a seat for the conversation ahead.

    "What's the Ministry doing?" Narcissa asks, furrowing her eyebrows. Several people involved in the war are always scared that the Ministry will be infiltrated again, and that included Harry's family and friends.

    "Nothing much. We're just getting some transfer students from Hecate Academy of Magic in the United States," Harry replies with a shrug.

    "Transfer students? That's never happened before. Why instate it now?" Narcissa asks.

    "That's what I said!" Draco exclaims as he stops pretending to be indifferent.

    "Well, the excuses are pretty reasonable. Transfer students will allow Hogwarts to send its students to study around the world and for foreign students to come here. It will allow the Ministry to create closer connections with other countries and it will disperse some of the racism that leaks into the wizarding world from the muggle side. It might even make the Ministry some allies, but none of those are the students' actual reason for coming here," Harry explains.

    "What is their real reason, then?" Lucius asks, interest now piqued.

    Harry looks to Draco and realizes he's said too much. They have been sworn to secrecy about these students and saying anything more would invade their privacy. Draco is about to say something when Narcissa speaks up.

    "It's alright if you can't tell us. We were just curious, that's all," she says with a reassuring smile on her face. Harry relieves some tension he didn't know had entered his body.

    Harry thinks about it. "These students are special, but Draco and I have no idea why their specialties are needed here. We're going to try to find out on the express," he tells them to sedate some of their curiosity. He sighs under his breath when they go along with it.

    "Something must be going on on the inside for the Ministry to become involved with foreigners," Lucius says as he goes back to reading his newspaper.

    Draco and Harry can only nod and agree with him. "That's what McGonagall believes as well," Draco says. "Even Dumbledore talked to us about it. If it's serious enough that the silent portrait actually talks, then I wonder where this is all going," he continues.

    "That's something only the two of you will find out about. Just be careful, okay? I have a feeling that you're right about your assumptions and these students might not be here just to study," Narcissa says as she fidgets with her platinum-blond hair. It's a strange habit that she developed during her house arrest and Harry knows for sure that she only does it when she starts worrying for someone's safety.

    "We'll be fine, Narcissa. If Minerva trusts us, then I think we should be fine," Harry tells her to reassure her, but he doesn't believe himself. The demigods' reason for coming here has been bothering him for weeks and he's unsure of what's to come ahead.

    Narcissa gives him a knowing stare before sighing. "Just be careful."

     Draco and Harry nod solemnly. Then, opting to change the topic, they start reminiscing about the last week with only Scorpius around. Albus and Scorpius together are trouble, but at least Albus knows how to limit Scorpius. Scorpius alone is every cunning Slytherin trait incarnated, and Draco and Harry get daily migraines simply  _thinking_  about the trouble that he gets into.

     The mansion has dreadful memories, but all the good memories that Harry made afterwards have almost completely blocked out the bad ones. He likes being here, and he likes that the Malfoys have, unexpectedly, become another part of his family. A family that has somehow come to include several Slytherin families that actually like interacting with the Weasleys. Harry grins. Whatever is coming ahead can wait. He's going to enjoy his time now.

 

_August 30, 2015 - Noon_

    "Are you sure I packed everything!?" Annabeth asks in a panic for the third time in ten minutes. Nico and Percy both sigh.

    "Yes, Annabeth. You packed everything last night," Percy tells her tiredly.

    The only reason that Nico is here is because he had to shadow travel Annabeth, Leo, Piper, Calypso, and Jason to the airport. Unfortunately, that means that he has to deal with a worried Annabeth. That's the furthest thing he can think of from the word  _fun_.

    "Maybe I forgot my supply list at home?" Annabeth asks, more to herself than anyone else.

    "It's in the front pocket of your shoulder bag," Percy says before taking a long drink of his coffee. Nico really can't blame him. Annabeth is the only one that hasn't gone into security yet and she was uselessly worrying about her stuff.

    "What about my laptop? Did I enchant all of my electric items? Did I put the chip in all of them?"

    "In the middle pocket, yes, and twice," Percy replies softly.

    "My cellphone?"

    "Jean pocket."

    "My—" Annabeth starts, but Nico cuts her off.

    "You have everything, Annabeth. You've checked ten times since we left camp. You're going to miss your flight if you don't go in now," he says, partly annoyed and partly tired. He had no coffee this morning because Will had woken him up to finish packing.

    Annabeth glares for a moment before sighing. "Okay. Alright." Percy gets up and gives her a hug and a kiss. Nico looks away, giving them their privacy, and decides to stare out of the window. He's going to miss New York, even if he is excited to get away from the farming and the big city.

    "I'll miss you guys!" Annabeth exclaims as she runs into the loading area with her luggage in tow.

    "You'll see us in a few hours, wise girl!" Percy says loudly as he waves goodbye. Nico simply gives her a small salute.

    When she disappears into the security check area, Nico turns toward Percy. "C'mon, we have to go back. We still have to finish our own packing, and I'd bet a three course meal at the most expensive restaurant in NYC that you already made a mess out of your cabin in the past two days," Nico tells him.

    "C'mon, man. Annabeth said the same thing this morning. Am I really that untrustworthy?" Percy whines as he holds onto Nico's shoulder. While Nico is long past the days of the "I had a crush on you and now physical contact is as awkward as farting in a movie theater" stage, they have a silent agreement that holding hands in any situation is still and always going to be a big no-no.

    "Yes," Nico says with a smirk just before he shadow travels away.

 

  
_August 30, 2015 -_   _Evening_

    "You ride Mrs. O'Leary," Nico says as he ties his luggage onto the giant hellhound that was currently playing with a new and improved chew toy.

    "Why do I have to ride her?" Percy asks with a glare as he pets her. "Why don't you ride her?"

    "Because Hazel and I have to shadow travel with two others across the Atlantic Ocean to the middle of a crowded street and someone needs to make sure Mrs. O'Leary doesn't run off once she's in London. You're the only person that's ever ridden her and it wouldn't be good if something — or someone — gets lost in the shadows," Nico says as he jumps off her back and waits for the others to get out of their cabins. The five that had decided to shadow travel to London decided to stay are about ready to leave. All of the luggage is packed and they simply needed to finish checking that they have everything.

    Percy glares at Nico and Nico proceeds to glare back. After a few second, Percy sighs and says, "Alright. I give in. We're meeting in front of that one wizard bar, right?"

    "The Leaky Cauldron," Hazel says from behind Nico, Frank following right beside her. Hazel has a purse hanging diagonally from her body and Frank is carrying a heavy-looking backpack.

    "Yeah. That. Do you think Mrs. O'Leary will know where to go?" Percy asks again.

    Hazel nods. "She'll know. She can see past the mist, unlike the rest of us."

    Percy nods. Then, Nico interrupts with his own question. "Has anyone seen Will?"

    "I thought I saw him hounding Kayla about something a few minutes ago," Frank says as he looks toward the infirmary. Nico groans.

    "Can't leave the infirmary in someone else's hands for more than a few hours, can he?" he mutters to himself. He then says, "I'll be right back. Have to go grab one overprotective healer," more loudly. Nico walks off in the direction of the infirmary.

    When he arrives at the infirmary, Will is giving his own speech to his younger sister. "Kayla, are you  _sure_  you can handle the infirmary?"

    Kayla rolls her eyes. "You've asked me that question five hundred times in the past three weeks. For the final time, Will _,_  yes, I  _will_  be able to handle head healer duties for a few months while you're in Britain.  _Yes_ , I know what to do in case of any and all emergencies.  _No_ _,_  I will  _not_  do anything unethical as a healer. Now, go and enjoy your time to the best of your ability," she says, shoving Will in Nico's direction. Nico manages to keep Will at arm's length before the Apollo look-alike can manage to topple Nico over.

    Will turns his head and looks at Nico. "Uh...hey," he says sheepishly as he moves his hand to rub his neck.

    "Solace," Nico says with a twitch in his eye. He told Will that he wasn't allowed to enter the infirmary at all before they left because getting him out would then require force. He told him fifty times at least. He wasn't really angry but more annoyed that now he really would have to use force.

    "Yes?" Will asks innocently as his blue eyes widen. Nico only ever uses Will's last night when he's either teasing the taller boy or annoyed at him. Will doubts that Nico is in a teasing mood right now.

    "What did I tell you about the infirmary when you decided to come?" Nico says in a dangerously calm voice.

    "I...I can't...uh...remember," Will stammers out. He looks to Kayla and sends her a look to help him out. She shrugs.

    Nico rolls his eyes and grabs Will's hand. "Sorry that this worrisome guy came and gave you trouble, Kayla. See you in a few months," he says as he drags Will out.

    "No. Wait. I still haven't gotten everything in order. I haven't made sure that everything's in stock. Let me go right now di Angelo or else I'm going to—" Will complains but is cut off by Nico's annoyed huff.

    "You're going to do what, Will? We leave right now. Your luggage is on Mrs. O'Leary and I have your backpack right here," Nico replies, holding up the bag that Nico had grabbed off the stool by the infirmary's entrance. Nico sighs. "Look, I told you to stay away from the infirmary because I  _knew_  that you were going to end up freaking out like Annabeth. I kept my side of the deal. I stayed away from my powers today and I refrained from traveling anywhere through the shadows."

    Will doesn't speak for a second. Then, he quietly say, "I'm sorry, Nico. I didn't mean to break it." He quits tugging away from Nico's grip, which, ironically, allows him to go free.

    "Apology accepted. Now c'mon. We were supposed to have left by now," Nico says as he sprints in Mrs. O'Leary's general direction.

    Will smiles to himself and takes off after him.

 

_The Leaky Cauldron_

    Annabeth is not happy. The rest of the group was supposed to check into the inn five minutes ago. What are they doing that it's taking them so long?

   "Annabeth, pacing around in worry isn't going to do anything," Piper says behind her as she drinks some weird beverage that's apparently a specialty in this new world.  _Butterbeer_ , Annabeth remembers.

    She lays her head in her hands. "I know. But what if something happened to them? What if they're stuck in the middle of nowhere? What if the shadow travel went incorrectly and they just never made it out?"

    "Really, Annabeth? It's not fair that you doubt me this much," a tenor voice says behind her and she jumps.

    She turns around and sees Nico standing to the side of the group with Will's hand intertwined in his. She looks to the left and sees Hazel and Frank dragging their luggage behind them. Behind Nico, Percy seems to be struggling with his own suitcase.

    Annabeth releases a small sigh of relief as Nico and Will head over to the bartender to check out a room. Meanwhile she looks at Percy, who gives her a small smile. She notices his shoulders droop slightly and tension release from his jaw. Annabeth smiles as well. After the nightmare that was literal  _hell_ , she and Percy become quite nervous when they are separated.

    Nico and Will come back holding two keys. Annabeth had already settled into the room she and Percy would be sharing. Will hands one of the keys to Hazel, who takes it in her hand.

    "Why did you guys arrive late?" Jason asks behind them, holding a butterbeer to his lips.

    "We kind of got... _held up_ ," Frank comments as he drags Hazel's and his luggage to the table.

    Annabeth frowns. What could have possibly happened that they were late? They were even supposed to leave ten minutes before their check in time in case something went incredibly wrong.

    "Did something jump out at you guys while you were taking your joyride through Halloween Town?" Leo asks teasingly. Calypso shoots him a glare. "What? I simply don't understand why someone would want to go through the  _dark_  to travel. That seems like an absolute nightmare."

    "Not everyone's scared of the dark or eager to ride an airplane, Valdez," Nico states as he slightly leans into Will. If Annabeth looks closely, she can see a slight translucence in Will's hand.  _He's probably cold_ , Annabeth thinks to herself. It's weird, really. She had thought that Nico had long ago beaten away the threat of becoming what he rules, but Will probably understood better than any of them that that isn't the truth.

    "Then why?" Jason asks with his eyebrow cocked.

    Nico rolls his eyes. "We were forgetting a few of the more important things that we're supposed to have before we left camp-" Nico looks around in a paranoid manner. "-us."

    Nico and Will drag their luggage over behind Percy as Nico finishes his explanation. "Also, certain people's  _problems_ ," he says, staring pointedly at Percy and Will, "were keeping us bound to the  _campus_  until we fixed them."

    Annabeth laughs. Out of all of them, it would be Percy that would give the group last minute problems. As she looks over to her boyfriend, she sees him giving her a glare. She smirks and mouths,  _Problem?_  He shakes his head with a smile on his own face and mouths,  _None_. 

     They spend the rest of the evening talking and head to their respective rooms sometime around eleven. Annabeth is glad when Percy slides his hand in hers and gives her a reassuring smile. She squeezes his hand and gives him one back. There's nothing like knowing that you won't be abandoned, as opposed to that moment that occurred in what now seems to be several years ago.

     Annabeth shivers slightly as she tries to block out those memories. Percy notices and opts to put his arm around her waist. She smiles at him again. Annabeth prays that their quest doesn't lead them anywhere near a place like Tartarus, because she doesn't think she could handle going there again. 


	5. Diagon Alley and Suspicious Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two groups go to Diagon Alley and Nico's suspicions begin to arise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally updated! Thank you so much for the kudos and I appreciate the few comments I've received. Sorry about the warnings I had to add, but I didn't want anyone getting angry at me for not adding them. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
> 
> EDIT: I'M SO SORRY! I just realized that I had this fic all out of wack because of drafts that I hadn't posted (and didn't plan on posting cause they were really either copies of old chapters I couldn't find or where I was going to post new ones, but forgot to. Anyway, I'm sorry, and now the story should be in the correct order if I confused any of you. Sorry! In my defense, this is my first time putting anything up on Archive of Our Own, so....noob problems.

    "So...Hazel...do you know how to get  _into_  Diagon Alley?" Frank asks as all ten people stare at the brick wall in front of them.

    "Eh...sorry?" Hazel says, playing with an imperial gold nugget between her fingers.

    Everyone groans. " _Hazel_. I thought you said you researched everything possible," Nico says as he stares at the wall in front of them hopelessly. He wills the wall to open with his mind, but it doesn't. He notices a trash bin in one corner of the wall.  _Why_   _do_   _you_   _need_   _a_   _trash_   _can_   _in_   _an_  alleyway _?_

    "I did!" Hazel exclaims, defending herself. "I just thought the wall would open for us rather than us having to figure out the trick," she adds on.

    "Are you having trouble getting in?" the group hears from behind them and they all turn around, tempted to go into battle position but knowing full well that that might give them away.

    Nico sees two men, one who is tall with styled blond hair and the other who is a few inches shorter with messy coal-colored hair. They're both dressed in strange clothes that cover dress pants and a button up shirt.  _Wizard_   _robes_ , he thinks to himself. The tall one looks slim under his clothing and the shorter one looks toned, and even paranoid, as if he's been trained to fight.

    "Who are you?" Jason asks as his hand instinctively goes to his belt. Nico remembers that Jason had learned sometime last year to will his sword and its sheath into a knife. It had been slightly harder than the staff, but it eventually did give in. The sheath had been even more problematic.

    "Ah, don't worry. We're not here to bother you. We just need to get into Diagon Alley," the taller man says as he points behind them to the wall.

    Nico, along with the rest of them, continues glaring at them until Calypso says, "There's no mist, guys. Let them through."

    Nico looks back at Calypso, who is now wearing jeans and a flowery shirt. Her chestnut hair is tied into a braid and her amber eyes are determined.

    Nico sighs and says, "Cal is right guys. Let's move out of the way. There are probably others coming through here." They had decided on Cal as a nickname for Calypso. They wouldn't use her actual name unless they really needed to. As for a last name, they  _could_  have chosen something meaningful, but even Calypso was too lazy to think of something. In the end, she decided on Leo's last name for the sake of not having to try too hard.  _Calypso_   _Valdez_ , Nico thinks to himself as he tries not to smirk.

    Everyone moves out of the way. The two men nod and the shorter one thanks them. Before he opens the door, the taller one takes out his wand and looks at them. "Three up and two the the side," he says, following those movements from the trashcan.  _So_  that's  _why_   _that's_   _there_ _..._

    Will squeezes Nico's hand in excitement as the wall begins to open with the rotation of the innermost bricks. The wall opens quickly, revealing the strangest sight they might have ever seen.

    Diagon Alley is filled with shops and vendors. If they look far enough, they can see a giant white building. All of the buildings are of an older style and in measurements that simply shouldn't be possible, except for the fact that they're in a world full of magic. The shops are colorful and there seems to be a lot of excitement all around. People are crowded on the street, some carrying several books, other coming out of clothing shops, and some even carrying brooms and pets. If Nico remembers his supply list correctly, it did say something about being able to take one of three animals.

    "Wow," Will breathes out beside him as he takes in the environment with wide eyes.

    The two men in front of them laugh. "Would this be your first time in Diagon Alley?" says the shorter one with what seems to be a relaxed smile.

    "Yeah," Percy replies to the side. He opens his mouth, probably to say something impulsive, and Annabeth shoots him a glare. He closes his mouth and allows Annabeth to speak.

    "It's quite different here than where we shop in New York. Perhaps it's the more old-fashioned style here?" Annabeth says, turning the questions on them.

    The blond seems to know something as he smirks. "Perhaps," he replies. "Enjoy your time in London," he says as he looks at the other man. He turns around and starts walking towards one of the shops.

    "Thank you for letting us through," Annabeth says, and they both nod.

    "You're welcome," the shorter one says, then turns around when the other man pulls on his arm.

    Once they leave, Percy says, "There's something weird about them."

    Nico sees Annabeth roll her eyes. "There's something weird about  _all_  of the people on this street, seaweed brain."

    "No, Percy's right. They give off some weird vibes," Piper says as she looks at them.

    They all let that sink in, and then decide to shrug it off. "If they become a danger, we'll just confront them," Frank suggests, and they all nod.

    Then, they separate into their five respective pairs and head off with supply lists in hand to buy what they need.

 

_Draco_ _Potter-Malfoy_

     _So_   _those_   _are_   _the_   _kids_ , Draco thinks to himself as he looks behind him one more time to see the entire group disperse. He recognized each one of them except the girl that they called "Cal".

    He hadn't been too keen on believing what their former headmaster told Harry and him before. He couldn't believe those kids had any sort of power. Now, he can feel the power radiating off of them, not in any physical form, but in the way they hold themselves in person. It's similar to how Harry acts in public, but plenty more paranoid. They seem to expect anything to attack them at any moment.

    He had taken one look at the pale fifteen-year-old holding hands with the sunny healer, something that had shocked him at first, and had a strange urge to comfort him. The kid is the same age as Albus and Scorpius but was constantly glaring at them and looked ready to send them to their deaths. Something about him made Draco feel uneasy, but that was easily counteracted by the fact of his identity and that he was simply a fifteen-year-old with a will to live and protect. He looked tired, as if he hadn't slept a peaceful night in his life. Draco had taken a look at the bag on his back and could have sworn that it turned into a sword for a second. He looked like death incarnated into the body of a young teen.

   The next two he took notice of were the couple in the front. They were the oldest two and they seemed just as ready to fight as the fifteen year old, if not more. The boy had been tapping a pen on his thigh and the girl had been fingering at something on her waist. They had both glared at him, confident that they could win if something really did attack them. The girl had seemed to be the smarter of the two, her eyes moving everywhere and constantly calculating in case they needed to escape. Her intelligence reminded Draco of one curly-haired Hermione Granger Weasley, but her posture, stance, and attitude was closer to that of a cunning Slytherin than a reckless Gryffindor. He refused to think that she wasn't brave, not when he took her parentage into consideration.

    The couple behind them, a short dark-skinned girl and a tall Asian boy, weren't exactly being hostile. Instead, they were waiting for a sign, something to set them in motion. They started messing around with items in their hands, but Draco hadn't gotten a close enough of a look to see the objects. The girl had stared at Harry and him in wonder, as if she was trying to figure something out. The Asian had taken on a calm demeanor, as if he accepted whatever happened next.

    The other couple, a tanned girl and a boy with golden hair and a small scar on his lip, were just as paranoid as the oldest couple, each one fingering at their belts. The Latin boy in the back wasn't as paranoid as he was questioning. The girl he was holding hands with, Cal, was relatively relaxed the entire time, as well as the blond boy holding the first boy's hand. Even so, they all remained prepared to fight if something got out of hand.

    "What did you think of them?" Harry asks Draco, which snaps Draco out of his thoughts.

    "They're paranoid. Very paranoid," he replied as he started looking around for the familiar red tone of the Weasley's hair.

    "I noticed that as well. Even Kingsley doesn't act like that, and he's had too much experience in the field to rule out paranoia," Harry says as he grabs Draco's hand. They had decided to not be too touchy around the demigods in case they were slightly more...bigoted muggles. It turned out that all of their precautions had been for nothing, the two boys in the back clearly much more than a platonic couple.

    "Did you notice how they went for certain parts of their bodies when they heard us?" Draco asks Harry as they continue walking through. He can hear the whispers of the crowd and a few insults, but the two of them have long ago learned to ignored the bigotry of those that couldn't accept an ex-Death Eater marrying their Golden Boy.

    "Yeah. A few went for their belt. I'm guessing they were carrying knives. Others started messing around with objects. I only noticed the boy in the front was holding a pen. What was his name again? Uh...Peter? Patrick? Percy...? Percy....us? Yeah! Perseus. That was it," Harry replies, partly speaking to himself. Draco smiles. He's used to Harry going into his "processing" mode in cases like these.

    "I can't understand what damage he could do to anyone with a pen," Draco says jokingly. In reality, he knows that there's probably something with that pen, but he doesn't know what.

    "Do you think it was some sort of Disillusionment Charm?" Harry asks as he ponders on the boy's pen.

    "Perhaps," Draco replies. Then, he remembers what Cal had said to calm them. "Did you hear what the girl said to them?"

    Harry nods. "Something about mist. What could that be about? She said there was no mist. Would that be something bad?"

    "Maybe," Draco replies and prepares to say something else, but a yell ahead of them interrupts them.

    "Father!" exclaims Scorpius as he runs towards Draco. He tackles both of the men and it takes all of their strength to not fall over.

    "Woah, kid. You aren't eleven anymore. We can't handle those tackles, especially not with your Quidditch strength," Draco says as he and Harry hug Scorpius back.

    Scorpius pulls back and looks at them sheepishly. "Sorry?" he says, rubbing the back of his neck.

    Draco and Harry chuckle. "It's okay, kiddo," Harry says as he looks behind Scorpius. The Weasley-standard red hair is the first thing they notice.

    Ginny walks towards them holding hands with the dark-skinned man that is Draco's best friend Blaise Zabini. A young three-year-old is in Blaise's arms, with cappuccino skin and the dominant Weasley hair. Behind them, Astoria and Victor are holding hands, Astoria's stomach bulging and Victor's eyes tired. Albus is walking alongside Blaise, cooing at his half-sister with adoration. Draco smirks at the scene in front of them. They really do make one strange family.

    Harry is about to say something when Albus looks up and shouts, "Grandpa! Grandma!" Ginny almost immediately scowls as Draco's father walks up to them from the apparition point.

    Ginny arrives to their location as Albus and Scorpius take off in the direction of Lucius and Narcissa. "Harry, why didn't you send me any notification that they were coming?" she hisses at him.

    Harry grins guiltily. "Because I knew you would refuse to come if I told you he was coming?" he says, rubbing his arm.

    "Calm down, Weaslette," Draco says, using her nickname in a teasing manner. She scowls, but a smirk plays on her face almost immediately afterwards. Until she remembers that she's supposed to be angry, that is. "They have sworn to not say anything. Anyway, they have changed. Just give them a chance."

    Ginny scowls and a glaring contest commences between the two. After a few seconds, Ginny sighs. "They're already here. Not like I can do much about it." Draco is internally shocked. She almost never gives in that easily. "And its Zabini, Malfoy."

    "Yes, and you're forgetting something," Draco says with a proud smirk.

    Ginny rolls her eyes. "I don't care who you're married to, you're still a Malfoy to me," she responds with a smirk on her own face. Draco simply smiles lightly, his expression relaxed in content. Anyway, she wasn't exactly wrong in calling him by his last name. He would have to get used to it now that he and Harry would be constantly called by their respective former last names. The two of them had decided on it so as not to confuse the younger kids when there were two Professor Potter-Malfoys.

    After the initial greetings, the entire group heads off to grab supplies. They spend the morning shopping for supplies, and Draco is content when Ginny doesn't ignore Lucius, who tries to commence a conversation with her. While they don't automatically become friends, the two members of rival clans manage to keep up a civil conversation. Narcissa talks to Astoria and Victor while reminiscing on Draco's own birth, a conversation he chooses to block out for the sake of his dignity. Scorpius and Albus jump around from grabbing their supplies to joining one of the conversations. It's definitely not the worst way to be roaming around Diagon Alley.

    Meanwhile, Draco and Harry notice the demigods jumping around from shop to shop as well. They notice that, while the group itself is separated, the pairs never leave each other. One would think that it's simply their affection for each other, but it seems to be more than that. Each pair is like a coin, with each person fulfilling one side of it and each one having the others' back.

    "It's strange, isn't it?" Harry says beside him as they sit in Madam Malkin's robe shop. They're currently waiting for one of the couples to finish getting their dress robes fitted. Draco notices as the Asian boy stiffens in discomfort while Madam Malkin checks finishes fitting his robe. In the meantime, the dark-skinned girl that seems to be his girlfriend never moves very far away from him and seems to be messing with something in her hands again. If Draco looks closely, he can see the object give off a glimmer.

    "Quite," Draco replies. He's on the verge of mentioning their distance and an overprotective aura that the girl gives off as she stares at the seamstress with suspicion when the boy is let back into a dressing room to remove the robes. Madam Malkin calls up Scorpius next.

    Scorpius jumps up and gets his measurements taken. Draco sees the couple leave, but soon glances back at his own son, whom Narcissa seems to be fussing over but stands back after a quick glare from Madam Malkin. The atmosphere between the two women has been quite tense since Draco's sixth year at Hogwarts. Draco had made his own amends years before, soon after the war, and was on relatively good terms with the woman.

    After they finished getting their robes, they headed off to grab books and parchment. At the request of Lucius and Narcissa, they decided to grab the rest of the boys' supplies and wait for a late lunch. Once they were done grabbing the supplies, the boys were complaining of their starvation, the six parents and step-parents were all either conversing with each other, or, in Harry's case, having an argument with their former boss on the phone, and the grandparents were looking smugly at each other.

    After the war, the Ministry not only ventured into reforming the Wizengamont, government, and economy, but also decided to try modernization. While several pureblood wizards had protested against it, most purebloods had no voice in the government until wizard society had become overwhelmed by the use of magical cellphones, televisions, computers, and other muggle technology. The most controversial issue had been the use of the internet, but, after its convenience had been discovered by members of all of the social classes, most purebloods chose to let their prejudices go. Not only that, but other fields had been revolutionized by muggle technology. The government had set up an entire regulation system for the use of magic mixed with advanced scientific technology, such as that used in medicine, biology, and potions. Draco himself had been introduced to the system a bit late, and only after several frustrating lessons from Harry on the difference between a  _text_  and an  _email_  and a video as opposed to a magic picture. Even his own aristocratic parents had been more up to date than he had been, much to his own chagrin.

    "I don't care, Kingsley. I've been pleasing the wizard world far too long. I quit the Aurors for a less dangerous job at your most desperate time of need because I'm tired of fighting and wars. Accept it. Goodbye," Harry said into the phone as he walked beside Draco. While Harry wasn't a selfish person at heart, Draco had managed to convince him against staying in his job. He could see how unhappy Harry was every night when he got home and how much energy it took his own husband just to floo into the Ministry. It wasn't the worst decision in the world and Harry already looks significantly happier knowing that he won't have to take another step into the Ministry if he so chooses.

    "Bad time?" Draco asked, more out of sympathy than actual curiosity.

    "Let's just say that Kingley might not be very happy with me for a few weeks while I leave him to deal with the press," Harry replies, rubbing between his eyes. Draco is sometimes still surprised at how much clearer his green eyes are when he isn't wearing glasses. The man had gotten his eyesight fixed soon after the war, or at least that's what Narcissa had told Draco.

    "At least you won't have to see him until Christmas," Draco says, patting Harry's back calmly.

    Harry grimaces and Draco narrows his eyes. The question isn't even formed in his head when Harry says, "If Order meetings start up again due to the threat, I might have to."

    Draco isn't as worried about the Minister of Magic's wrath as he is about the fact that his husband is about to join the organization that got so many of Harry's loved ones killed. "Harry, you aren't actually thinking of joining the Order again, right?"

    "Draco, they're my sons. I want to protect them, and I can get hefty amounts of inside information through the Order. It shouldn't be dangerous, and it's only if the threat rises again," Harry explains to him. He looks into Draco's eyes, and Draco sees all of the sincerity and honesty that Harry has in him.

    Draco sighs. "I can't stop you, you reckless Gryffindor. The Order is okay, but on one condition."

    Harry tenses up underneath his hand. "What?" He asks, his voice wavering slightly.

    "You aren't allowed back in the Order alone. It's either us together, or neither one."

    "No," Harry replies automatically and slightly louder than he probably meant to. He takes in a deep breath and says, "No, Draco. Remus and Tonks faced a horrible fate because of the Order. I don't want you being involved in there."

    Draco feels a clenching in his chest as he realizes the implied meaning of those words. "Only more of a reason for me to join. I can protect you. We're a team, aren't we? You've said so before, and you can't just abandon your partner because of some type of need to protect you have burning inside of you!" Draco exclaims in a whisper as he pulls Harry away from the entrance of Weasley Wizard Wheezes, their last stop before lunch.

    "Draco, this is my fight. You don't have to get involved! If you do, I'm afraid something will happen to you," Harry explains, his demeanor calm but his eyes, glassy at the thought alone, give it all away.

    The problem is that Harry isn't the only one that feels that way. Draco doesn't want any harm to come to Harry or their sons. His feelings are exactly the same, and that Harry still continues to peg him as the one that needs protection annoys him. "Look, we join together or I will follow you everywhere to make sure you don't join. Either way, we're a team and I'm not letting you battle by yourself," Draco emphasizes to Harry. Then, he grabs Harry's hand and, in a low voice filled with sadness, says, "Not again."

    Draco knows Harry will understand what he's talking about. It isn't simply the fact that Harry faced his death with only the deceased by his side, or the fact that he searched for the Horcruxes not alone, but sacrificing his own happiness in the process of trying to make things better for everyone else. He's talking about the weeks and months after the Battle of Hogwarts. He's talking about the near-alcoholic state Harry was in before Narcissa finally noticed his state of depression. He's talking about the scars that he glimpses on Harry's upper arms and inner thighs on intimate nights. He's talking about the heart-breaking panic attack and following mental breakdown that Harry had several months into their children's first year at Hogwarts. Draco wouldn't let Harry deal with another battle, internal or external, alone again.

    Harry, realizing what Draco was trying to say, gives him a sad smile. "Draco, I'm stronger now."

    Draco returns the smile. "I know. It doesn't change the fact that you're only human."

    Harry look into Draco's eyes for a few moments, then ducks his head and sighs. "I can't stop you if you want to talk to McGonagall about joining the Order, but, as you said, we're a team. We attend together."

   Draco nods. They just lean back against the window display, Harry's head on Draco's shoulder. After a few minutes, they hear the familiar noise coming towards them that announces the arrival of the other nine in their company.

    They straighten up just as Scorpius comes bouncing out of the store with a bag. Draco manages to hold in a groan, but it comes out the moment Albus steps out with an equal bag.  _That's bloody amazing_ , he thinks to himself.  _Now I have to deal with the pranks of my own sons_. 

    Both boys notice the sigh. "C'mon, father. We aren't going to use these against you or dad," Scorpius says with an innocent-looking grin on his face.

    "You two are our sons," Harry says with narrowed eyes. "You can't get me to believe your innocence for five seconds." Draco only smirks in agreement. 

    Scorpius rolls his eyes. "Well, we won't, whatever you may believe."

    Harry only keeps his eyes narrowed for a few seconds more before the other seven walk out of the shop. Ginny and Astoria are both carrying a bag, both probably full with items from the witch section of the shop and probably a toy or two. Lucius and Narcissa are freely conversing with Victor and Blaise while taking turns holding the hands of the three-year-old bouncing around a few feet in front of them. 

    "When are we going to lunch?" Albus asks all of the sudden, and Harry realizes that the kid has had nothing but a blueberry bagel to eat since last night. He had been panicking all night and this morning about what exactly he would need to get from Diagon Alley.

    Harry is saved from having to respond when Narcissa speaks up from behind the boys. "Scorpius. Albus. Are you two done with your shopping?"

    "Yeah," Albus replies at the same time that Scorpius gives a laid-back shrug.

    Narcissa nods and says something quietly to Lucius. He gives a quick nod and turns toward Harry and Draco, as well as the other adults. "Would you mind if we took the Floo to the resturaunt where we have reservations for lunch?"

    The six thirty-five year olds look at each other, each of them shrugging or replying with "whatever." After agreeing that they really don't care, Draco turns to his parents and tells them so. When asked, Scorpius and Albus jump in excitement. While Draco is long used to fine dining in his family and Harry could care less about it, their sons are quite eager whenever their grandparents take them out to eat. 

    After the mutual consensus, the strange gathering of wizards head off toward the Leaky Cauldron where Tom, although somewhat begrudgingly, allows them all to use the Floo. Before they leave the inn, people come in whispering angrily among themselves. When Draco sees who it is, he nudges Harry's side with his elbow. Harry turns to look at him but sees the demigods before he makes a full spin. 

    Harry then whispers something in Narcissa's ear, and she looks over at the kids. At almost that moment, her eyebrows furrow and her lips thin out with worry. Although Draco almost expects her to go up to them and introduce herself, she doesn't. Instead, she composes herself and turns back towards the Floo.

    Draco has as much idea as to where they're going as the rest of them. Lucius and Narcissa are secretive enough that they give everyone an address rather than a name. Draco releases Harry's hand as Harry steps through the floo. After a moment, Draco throws floo powder into the fireplace and steps through himself. He steps out of a fireplace that's stationed by the doorway of a nice resturaunt. It isn't Malfoy-level classy, but it's definitely a better dining establishment than a casual family place. Now he's glad he had Twinky take their items back to the Manor as they got them, or else it would have made things incredibly more awkward.

    There are waiters and waitresses walking around in a restaurant polo and black slacks. The entire restaurant is dimly lit, but adequate enough to make the atmosphere comfortable, rather than romantic. To Draco's knowledge, this doesn't seem like a place where he needs to speak a foreign language. He doesn't know what his parents have planned, but one can never be too cautious with a Malfoy, according to Harry. 

    A waitress attends them and leads them to a door. Scorpius and Albus enter first, and the entire restaurant turns in their direction when a squeak of excitement travels through the door. Draco's face reddens in embarrassment and he steps into the room as quickly as possible. That's when he realizes why the boys were so excited.

    All around them, there are colorful balloons and decorations, some wizard and some muggle. There's two twin birthday cakes on a fairly large table in the middle of the room, one black, Slytherin green, and Gryffindor red, and the other silver and the same Slytherin green as the other. The former, which Draco assumes belongs to Albus, is decorated with a paper and quill at the top, while the latter flaunts a giant golden snitch. If Draco looks closely, he can see two gifts behind the table, each one the same colors as its respective cake.

    "Narcissa, what is this for?" Astoria ask from one corner of the room. Even though there are nine people in the space, it doesn't seem to be very crowded.

    "Well, since the boys' birthdays are both several weeks before Christmas break, we wanted to celebrate them. Also, it is their last day at home," Narcissa explains.

    "So this is a birthday-slash-farewell party?" Ginny asks with her eyebrow raised yet in a manner that speaks civility.

    Narcissa only nods, and is shocked when Scorpius tackles her. "Thank you, grandma. We really appreciate this." In the meantime, Albus expresses his own gratitude to Lucius, and then they switch places. 

    While that happens, the rest of them go to the table and take their seats. Ginny looks most surprised out of all of them and Draco gives her a smirk and raises his eyebrow. She only narrows his eyes at him before giving him a small smile of defeat. It's her way of saying that she believes in the change Narcissa and Lucius experienced. She notcied it, obviously (it was kind of hard not to when the Weasleys had spent last Christmas Eve at the Manor), but Draco believes she had been reluctant to accept it. He couldn't blame her, not with how much harm the Malfoy family had done to the Weasleys. They were still paying for it to this day every time they saw Bill's scars or George Weasley with dyed brown hair and a girlfriend at his side rather than his twin. Both sights, and several others, usually sent pangs of regret flowing throughout Draco's body, and he was sure it wasn't much better for either of his parents. 

   They chat blissfully with each other, and Draco takes his chance to ask Narcissa about her earlier reaction when everyone else is distracted about what wine they should order for the adults. 

   Narcissa stares down at her hands for a moment. Her eyes are slanted downwards. "They remind me of you, sweetie," she says solemnly. "You and every other student that had to suffer through that wretched war."

    Draco only hums. He decides to stop talking about it. Those are old and painful memories that no one wants to look back on.

    Their lunch passes by in relatively comfortable chatter as they wait for their food, and silence as they actually eat it. Albus and Scorpius enjoy cutting their cakes and eating their favorite flavors. Albus adores the chocolate-flavored slice while Scorpius eagerly digs into his own slice of marble cake. Ginny discovers that she shares a love of gardening with Narcissa although laments that she is unable to keep her own due to Quidditch. Narcissa responds by saying that Ginny is always free to join her whenever she can, and, although Ginny looks slightly uncomfortable at the idea of being anywhere near Malfoy Manor, she says she'll think about it.

    Meanwhile, Harry, Blaise, and Scorpius argue about the next Quidditch match and Albus plays around with little Maya. Draco makes small talk with his father and Victor while keeping a tight hold on Harry's waist. While it isn't anything extravagant, Draco can't think of a better way to celebrate his sons' birthdays than spending time with his strange and, thankfully, content family.

 

_The_ _Leaky_ _Cauldron_

    "Guys, you need to stop," Hazel says as she scolds Leo and Percy, who had the audacity to mess around with their powers around a woman that was being rude to them.

    "What!? She was rude. The least she could do if she wanted to get to a specific section was ask in a polite manner like a normal person," Percy says beside Annabeth.

    "That woman looked like some type of old-style noble lady. I thought those people were supposed to grow up with manners," Leo says as he rests his chin on Calypso's shoulder. She rolls her eyes at him.

    "After thousands of years, no matter how little information I got, humans always complained about the behavior of the upper class. I assume she's just another upper class woman with no care for anyone but herself," Calypso says with a sigh as they step into the building. 

    Percy and Leo hum in agreement as they head over to one of the tables to set down several bags and boxes of supplies. After spending the entire morning running around, getting lost, and keeping suspicious shop keepers out of their faces, the demigods had finally managed to buy everything. They are now seated on a long table with their items stacked beside them on the ground.

    Nico felt uncomfortable, to say the least. He knew the moment wizards took a look at him that they would assume the worst about him. He could  _feel_  their uneasiness as they attended to him. Other than the two they met that morning, that is. Those two were different, which only made Nico more uneasy. They weren't afraid so much as they were keeping close eye on the demigods. Their staring was starting to get to Nico and he often felt the urge to confront them and ask them exactly what their problem was. 

    After the stalker-like behavior the two men had exhibited that morning, Nico is not too surprised to find that they are standing by the fireplace when they enter the Leaky Cauldron. He didn't meet either of their eyes and instead looked at them from his peripherals. 

    When the ebony-haired man speaks into a middle-aged woman's ear, he quietly tells his camp mates, "Don't look in the direction of the fireplace, but I think the two men from this morning are watching us." He shifts anxiously and Will squeezes his hand, relaxing him almost immediately.

    "Are you sure it isn't just curiosity?" Annabeth asks. "After all, we're foreigners and we're dressed in non-wizard clothing."

    Nico takes another look from his peripherals. He sees the two men staring at their group like a marine biologist would look at a dolphin. The woman from before has a look of...sadness? That reaction almost made Nico loose his composure, but he didn't.

   "No. It looks as if they're studying us," he replies as he pretends to look at the iPod Will gave him for his birthday. 

   "Should we be ready to fight?" Jason asks as he pretends to look through one of his bags.

    Nico remembers the woman's reaction and says, "No, I don't think so." He looks over to them again and sees the last man throw something into the fireplace while saying something, and then disappear into green flames. Nico is shocked when the flames appear but realizes that the fireplace is probably a traveling method when nothing appears in there.

    "Those two are suspicious," Piper says as she now takes the chance to narrow her eyes at the fireplace. "They're obviously not anything particularly dangerous if they aren't being hidden by the Mist, but they keep staring at us for some reason." Piper frowns as she stares at the fireplace, probably expecting one of the two men to jump out of it and attack her.

    "Do you think they know something?" Hazel questions, and everyone stares at her as if she's lost her mind.

    "Hazel, no one should know anything except the most secretive departments of their government," Will replies. "I really doubt that either of those men is part of that department. My mom told me that someone who really knows something won't show it because it will risk their safety." Will mentioned once that his mom works in the government, but even he has know idea what exactly happens there. Nico doesn't really know how he feels about that, but Will has constantly reassured him that his mom told him it isn't anything bad or dangerous, at least to anyone outside of the department. 

    "Yeah, but that doesn't explain their constant curiosity," Hazel counteracts.

    "Maybe they sense something different about us? We're not exactly subtle, ya' know. Anyway, these are  _wizards_  were talking about. They probably have some weird psychic powers that let them see aura-thingies," Leo says as he messes around with some metal pieces that he pulled out of his magic tool bag.

    "Maybe," Hazel says before shrugging. "It doesn't really matter. I doubt we'll see them again."

    "We might see their children," Annabeth says pointedly.

    "Children?" Jason asks, curiously. "We never ran into them, so I never got a chance to inspect them.

    "Yeah," Percy replies. "There were two guys that looked about fifteen or sixteen walking around with them. It wasn't exactly hard to guess who their parents were, considering they almost looked liked carbon-copies of their dads."

    "I don't think they knew anything," Nico says. "Will and I passed them at the book store, and they seemed oblivious to the world. Honestly, out of the nine people I saw with them, it was only those two men and the aristocratic-looking lady that seemed to act suspiciously."

    "Well, if it was only those three, then I guess we don't have much to worry about," Will replies.

    "Yeah. I guess not," Nico replies half-heartedly, but he isn't yet convinced. Something is going on here, and he doesn't need the others worrying about it. If those men show up in front of them again, he'll try to figure things out himself. He doesn't want to get anyone else involved right now, not when they already have their relative peace, as well as a quest, to worry about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: The Hogwarts Express and tensions between the demigods and Harry and Draco.


	6. Tensions on the Hogwarts Express

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco talk to the demigods and demigods talk about them behind their backs in Ancient Greek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I UPDATE AT LAST. I've been busy with our windows 10 upgrade or I probably would have posted this sooner. I'm glad you guys are liking this series =) I'll admit that I went through slight writer's block trying through get through this, and I'm pretty sure I BSed the ending. Sorry. 
> 
> In other noteworthy notes, I'm very surprised this has as many hits as it does. I mean, I never thought I would get so many people to read it. It makes me happy =) Thank you so much for your support, and shout out to the anon Sydney for catching the two FOB names in the reading. I didn't even realize I made a FOB reference! Guess you learn something new everyday ^^

     "You said platform nine and three-quarters, right?" Frank asks Hazel as he looks at the sign that marks platform nine and then at the one that marks platform ten.

     "Yeah..." Hazel says as she furrows her eyebrows. "I don't understand. It should be here somewhere..."

     "It probably is, Hazel. It's most likely hidden under some type of barrier, like back at camp," Annabeth reassures Hazel as she looks through her luggage and bag to make sure she has everything.

     "Yeah, but  _at_  least  _we_  can see camp. Even with Hecate's magic, we can't see the barrier to the platform," Hazel replies as she looks around closely.

     "It's around here somewhere. We just have to closely for other people," Percy says as he scrolls through something on his recently acquired phone. One would think having no service would make a phone less addictive, but it didn't seem to be that way.

     "Looking for the Hogwarts Express?" someone says behind them, and they all jump and turn around in a defensive position. Much to their confusion, no one appears behind them except a dark-haired boy that's walking towards them. He seems too far away for the voice though.

     "Did you guys hear it?" Will asks as he stands with a hand at his waist. They all nod as they look around.

     "Cal, do you see any Mist?" Leo asks as he stands with a random tool in his hand.

     "No. This place's magic is too weird. I can't sense it like the magic at camp," Calypso replies as she furrows her eyebrows around her.

     They hear a laugh and jump again. Listening closely, it's coming from several sides, as if the person were constantly moving.

     Simultaneously, the black-haired boy that was nearing them before bellows out, "Scorpius! Father told you not to mess around with the clueless." The laughing stops, and the demigods get a feeling that the owner of the voice is now very much scared.

     They hear shuffling away behind them and the black-haired boy sighs as he reaches them. As they get a closer look, those that have seen him before recognize him as the son of one of the two men. His messy hair and facial features resemble his father. The only real difference are the amber eyes, as opposed to the green eyes that belong to the dad.

     "Sorry. Please forgive my brother," he says, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead. "He can be too childish sometimes. His pranks are nice until he starts messing with those new to this area."

     They all stare at him in confusion. He realizes this and blinks owlishly as he considers the idea that they might now even know what he's talking about. "Uh...are you guys...ya' know..." he asks, trailing off to avoid saying the word in case they're not.

     "Wizards?" Percy finishes with a raised eyebrow.

     The guy releases a relieved sigh as he says, "Oh, thank the heavens. I thought I might have gotten that wrong and Scorpius went so far as to mess with innocent muggles." He grins sheepishly, then continues with, "I might have had to Obliviate you if that had been the case."

     Leo's eyes widen to the size of saucers and asks, "Obliviate?"

     The boy laughs and says, "It really isn't as bad as it sounds. It's a common spell to erase the memory of another person." He stares questioningly at them and asks, "I thought you would know the spell, though."

     Some of the group laugh nervously but Annabeth keeps her cool and says, "Yeah, but we learned a different version of that spell."

     The kid looks at her in a suspecting manner for a second before he shrugs and says, "Ah, well, that's the version they'll teach you at Hogwarts."

     Nico takes the opportunity and asks the guy, "Speaking of which, do you know how to enter platform nine and three-quarters?"

     The questioned nods his head and points behind them. "Through there."

     They all look to the back, but all they see is a pillar. A few of them look back to make sure they're looking in the correct direction, and become confused when all they see is still a pillar. Piper voices her concerns.

     "All I see is a pillar," Piper says as she keeps looking in the two directions.

     "That's the point of it," the guy says. "Or else we would have a lot of questions from a lot of suspecting muggles. You guys are new around here, but I've never heard of Hogwarts taking in transfers. How did you guys manage it?"

     They all shrug. "We just know that our case files were approved by the Ministry. We don't know much else," says Frank as he stands a few inches taller than the boy.

     He narrows his eyes again for a second before relaxing and speaking. "Okay. Well, if you need any more help, wizards usually start crowding around here at the last minutes before eleven." He turns away from them and starts walking away before turning back and saying, "My name's Albus Potter, by the way. If you ever need help, I'm usually at the Slytherin table."

     Nico understood everything but the "Slytherin" part. He's more concerned about the eerie coincidence that the guy's dad keeps staring at the demigods and the next day they get a personal introduction with one of his sons. It probably is a coincidence, but Nico has seen too much to believe in coincidences that easily.

     Then, the guy walks  _into_  the pillar. Nico's eyes widen in shock.  _He was telling the truth?_  Everyone else seems to have the same reaction as he looks around and sees a few gaping mouths, some wide eyes, and several confused expressions.

     "I think we just found our platform," Will says as he regains his composure. He grabs the trolley he's pulling and drags it towards the pillar. Because no one else seems to have any idea of what they're doing, they simply follow behind Will.

     One by one, they tentatively enter the pillar, although each entrance becomes more confident as none go crashing into the bricks. Will enters first and Nico follows behind him. The sight he saw was mind-blowing and yet looked like something he could see every day if he were a wizard.

     The platform itself looks regular. It's slightly more old-fashioned than the other platforms, but only the signs, in serif font (Nico thanks every deity he knows of that Will forced him to get basic lessons on technology), and the clocks with Roman numerals give it away. What really surprises Nico is the age of the train he's looking at. It's flashy, painted in bright red and black, and is a steam locomotive. Nico hasn't seen one of these since...

     He shakes away those thoughts, refusing to go into a depressed state now. Then, he feels someone shoving him. Looking behind him, he sees Piper grinning sheepishly. "Sorry, Nico. I didn't know you were standing there."

     "It's fine," he says as he and Piper both move away from the entrance. Nico heads over to Will and gives a shove beside him.

     "What do you think?" Nico asks.

     "I think this is weird, but still nothing on our levels," Will says with a grin and Nico laughs. He couldn't disagree with that. He's seen Frank lead an army of skeletons, Juno trapped in a cage, and the whole switch incident between Percy and Jason. Back then, he really couldn't enjoy it, not with his feelings involved, but, now that he thinks about it, it was pretty weird. That incident is something that belongs in modern sit-coms, not in a world full of demigods.

     They wait a few seconds as the other demigods enter, and, after all ten people have been accounted for, they make their way into the locomotive. Much to their annoyance, compartments only hold six people. After a few minutes of arguments and childish claims of friendship and blood kin, they finally decide that Nico, Will, Hazel, and Frank will go in one compartment and the others will ride in the compartment next to it. Luckily, after walking around a few minutes, they find two consecutive empty compartments.

     Nico heads into his compartment and puts his stuff above the seats. He takes his trolley back to one of the trolley points inside the platform, then heads back to the compartment. Everyone else does the same and, soon enough, they're all ready to take off.

     The journey starts off well, especially for the fact that they're demigods and most journeys  _never_  go well. After about three hours, everyone runs out of small talk topics and Will takes out a laptop that has been specialized by the Hephaestus cabin to receive an internet connection anywhere. It comes in handy when they get bored and everyone opts in to watch a movie. While Nico would have preferred  _Kill Bill_  ("No, Nico. I know it's your favorite movie, but you have some type of obsession with Uma Thurman's killing spree in those movies..."), the other three go for a cheesy romantic comedy. Nico will never admit it to anyone, but he actually enjoys leaning into Will and watching the horrible plot line take place, fail, and then, miraculously, allow the heroine to marry the person she loves. Cheesy.

     Nico should have known that something would have caused a conflict, although he would have preferred a monster that caught their scent rather than the sight that visited them sometime around four in the afternoon. After all, a nine hour journey can never go well for a demigod, according to some acknowledged rule of the universe.

     "Harry, are you sure you saw them enter the compartments in this part of the train?" They hear in muffled voices, obviously coming from outside the compartment.

     Will shuts the laptop almost automatically and takes out a heavy bronze scapel, one that easily fits into his pockets, that will become a knife by using a specific body movement. The other two take out their own weapons, prepared to unviel them at the last minute, and Nico keeps a tight hand around the dark sword sitting underneath his seat.

     "Yes, Draco. I saw them come in this way when Albus and Scorpius pointed them out," says another voice, and an  _eerily_  familiar one at that.

     "Those voices..." Hazel starts but trails off. It looks like the entire group was thinking the same thing because they all nod to her comment. It's those men.  _What_   _are_   _they_   _doing_   _on_   _here_ _?_   _I_   _thought_   _this_   _train_   _was_   _for_   _students_   _only_ , Nico thinks to himself as he leans over and takes a sneak peak outside.

     "Dammit," Nico hisses under his breath. "Hazel, can you hide us in any form?" He asks her.

     "Not right now. It takes a serious amount of concentration and those men are too close. Anyway, they would find the other group behind us and we would have to leave them to deal with those guys," Hazel says just before the door before them opens and they see the two men from Diagon Alley.  _Oh_   _no_.

     They just stare at each other in awkward silence, the blond man looking... _embarrassed_ _?_  The ebony-haired man, on the other hand, looks confident yet kind. Their personalities are quite different from what Nico assumed them to be. Everyone on their side is glaring at them with their weapons at hand. Nico decides to be the civil one.

     "Hello, Mr..." Nico starts, and then realizes he has no idea what their names are.

     "Professors Potter and Malfoy," says the short man.

     Hazel's eyes widen considerably and she abruptly asks, "Professors?"

     The tall one chuckles, and says, "We have some explaining to do." Pointing at the empty seats on each side, he asks,"Do you mind?"

     They all glare at them. Then, they look pointedly at Hazel. She shakes her head. "I don't sense any Mist, but the magic here is weird, like Cal said before. If I'm wrong..." They all realize what she's implying. If they're wrong, these guys could be dangerous. She sighs and says, "Let them in."

     They all nod and stare at the two men. As they both come to the conclusion that they won't speak again unless spoken to, they sit down. The first thing they do is hold their right hands out to shake.

     Nico is the first to shake the blond man's hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Professor Draco P—" He realizes he was about to say something he shouldn't have and shakes his head. "Malfoy."

     "I'm Professor Potter," the other man says, calmly and with a grin on his face. Nico notices this time that there's an old but strangely formed scar on his forehead. It looks like a lightning bolt.

     They each introduce themselves with their first names, preferring to keep their last names hidden until they meet these professors in class. As demigods, it's better to stay safe and keep their identities as secretive as possible instead of later feeling sorry for themselves when monsters start attacking them right and left.

     "You guys are the transfer students, correct?" the taller man, Professor Malfoy, says as he relaxes into his seat.

     "Yeah," Hazel says cautiously. "From Hecate's Academy of Magic."

     The two men look at each other with matching grins as if they know something. "Welcome to the United Kingdom," the shorter one, Professor Potter, says. "The two of us have been assigned by the headmistress to escort you to the school ahead of everyone else."

     Even Will narrows his eyes at this conclusion. "Why?" he asks them as cautiously as Hazel.

     The two men look at each other, their eyebrows furrowed, and then let out something between a sigh and a chuckle. "Don't worry. We aren't going to do anything to you. We need you to be there ahead of time so that we can sort you into your houses. After all, we can't have you going on with the first years, or we're going to be getting a lot of questions," Professor Malfoy replies.

     "Sorting?" Frank asks curiously, letting his guard down.

     "Yes, a sorting. There exist four houses at Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Based on your personality, you'll be sorted into one of those four houses. The houses will dictate where you have to sit the first night, where you'll be rooming, and who you'll be going to for help most of the time," Professor Malfoy replies to Frank's question.

     "So it's kind of like the cabins back at camp—" Nico says, and then realizes he's around two men who have no idea that they're actually from Camp Half-Blood. "—us."

     No one else notices, but Nico catches a glimpse of excitement in their demeanor as they realize he almost let something slip. He tenses and Will looks at him with worry. Leaning close to him, but not close enough for these men to suspect, he whispers, "They're trying to get information."

     "Are you sure?" Will says as he narrows his eyes in their direction.

     "Yeah, but don't make it obvious that you know. The longer we remain oblivious, the better," Nico tells him, and Will nods. He then scootches away from Will and rejoins the conversation.

     "—apparating you directly into the Headmistress's office, where the sorting hat will place you into your house. From there, we'll take you outside the Great Hall, where you'll wait for the Headmistress to introduce you to your classmates. Once that's taken care of, you'll get to sit down at your respective tables," Professor Potter says kindly to everyone.

     Everyone automaticaly panics. Hazel and Frank look at each other and Will and Nico do the same. "Excuse me, sir, but what if we're at separate tables?" Will asks, a hint of hurried worry in his voice.

     They chuckle and Professor Malfoy says, "It shouldn't matter. You only have to sit at one of four tables on the first night. During most of the year, the four tables are separated into smaller sections where students of any house can sit. It's actually a much better system and makes it significantly easier to promote house unity."

     "House unity? If the people are separated into houses, why would you have to promote the unity of those people?" Nico asks curiously.

     Suddenly, the atmosphere becomes tense, and it isn't just because the demigods themselves aren't being friendly. The wizards obviously accustomed themselves to their behavior. The new tense atmosphere is due to the fact that Professor Malfoy has clenched his jaw and is staring out of the window outside the door with fierce eyes. Professor Potter's eyebrows are furrowed and he is looking at the other man with what is obviously an expression of worry.

     "I'm sorry. We'll be right back," Professor Potter says as he pulls Malfoy upwards and drags him out the door, closing the door shut behind them.

     The demigods immediately start talking.

     "Why do you think they're here? I don't think it's simply to tell us that they are our escorts," Nico starts off.

     "It could be," Hazel says, trying to find a bit of good reasoning in the professors' action.

     "I doubt it, Hazel. The moment I almost let it slip that we were from a camp, Potter got unusually excited. I think they were sent out to get information about us. They know more than they should," Nico tells her as he looks out the door and sees that the men aren't coming yet.

     "So what do we do? Should we send someone to warn the others?" Will asks as he furrows his eyebrows.

     "No. They'll figure it out themselves," Frank says. "We should stay here and try to get more information about this world from them. That way, we're not completely clueless."

     Nico, Will, and Hazel nod just as Potter comes back alone. He opens the door and says, "Sorry for walking out so suddenly. It's just that that question triggered some... _unwanted_  memories."

     They all stare at him in confusion. They have no idea what the professor is talking about, and Hazel only learned so much from Hecate. The majority of her information are on the present situation and the basics of the world they're visiting.

     "Sir, we're unsure of what you're talking about," Hazel says as the others sit in silence and hope for a good explanation.

     Surprisingly, Potter doesn't become suspicious nor does he start questioning them on their past studies. Instead, he mutters something under his breath that Nico is unable to hear, even though he's the closest person to the man. Then, he sits on the seat, shuts the door, and takes out his wand.

     The demigods all glare at him. Nico prepares to pull out his sword and the others the same with their weapons. He grins sheepishly as he notices their behavior and says, "Just need to cast an imperturbable charm. Many people prefer to keep the war in the past, and there are some things I would prefer others don't listen into."

     They relax, but only enough that they aren't in immediate contact with their weapons. Nico watches him wearily as he waves his wand and says _,_  " _Dissimulo_."

     There seems to be no visible effect when the magic is cast, and Nico doubts that anything happened. He frowns and Potter seems to read his mind. "Don't worry. It should be in effect now. I wouldn't be a very good Auror if I didn't know how to cast good privacy charms, now would I?"

     They all turn to stare at him, clearly unamused. He gives a nervous chuckle then quiets down. They aren't going to give him the chance to catch him off guard. "Sir, we would really like to know what you were talking about," Will says in as light a voice as he can manage. Nico can sense why. The atmosphere around them is fairly tense. 

     Potter looks at them and gives a heavy sigh. Suddenly, his entire composure goes stiff, but, at the same time, he seems to age ten years in that single moment. "I will explain what I can, but I won't delve deep into the subject. It's something that none of us like talking about. Draco has a more  _adverse_  reaction to the topic, that's why he isn't here with me."

     He looks at all of them, as if wanting them to stop him, but they don't. They want to know what can be so traumatic to this new world that they've entered. According to Potter's earlier words, it sounds as if their world went to war. It definitely wouldn't be the first time Nico has stepped into a war zone, or a former one at this point.

     He gives another sigh. "Something happened in this world approximately thirty-seven years ago," he looks at all of them, hoping for one last sign of boredom that would let him escape this conversation. "About thirty-seven years ago, a prophecy was given."

     Those words peak Frank's interest. "A prophecy, sir?" 

     Potter stares at Frank questioningly. "Yes. A prophecy. They're extremely rare and few wizards ever get the chance to hear them. While the thought of knowing the future seems like a great idea, the reality is a lot harsher," he says, his voice getting eerily bitter at the end.

     Nico has to hold in a snort at his first statement.  _Rare my butt_ , he thinks to himself. He's been a part of several too many prophecies. He can't help but agree with Potter on his second statement, although something does occur to him. "You sound as if you've had your fair share of experience with prophecies," he states. Everyone around him nods.

     Potter visibly stiffens more, if that's even possible. He clenches his jaw. He considers telling them what he knows for a moment. "That's because the prophecy made those several years ago was about me."

     Everyone's eyes widen visibly and Nico is sure he's gaping at the man in front of him like everyone else. Then, he regains his composure and, without thinking, bitterly says, "I can't disagree with the future being something no one wants to tempt." 

     The others' heads snap in his direction and Nico realizes what he has said.  _Styx_ , he thinks to himself. _I did not mean for that to happen_. Fortunately, Potter doesn't question him about it. Instead, he jokingly says, "You sound like my Divination professor. She was a true Seer but most of the time acted like a phony. Her excuse for being unable to make everyday predictions was that she didn't want to tempt the fates." He gives a chuckle as he reminisces to the memory. 

     "Seer?" Hazel asks with interest. Nico realizes they've gone off on a tangent, but Potter seems relieved that he doesn't have to talk about this prophecy of his.

     "They're something similar to what a muggle would refer as a fortune-teller. They're born into families and are a rare type of wizard," Potter says in an explanatory fashion that only someone with experience in teaching others would use.

     The demigods all look at each other. They're allthinking the same thing.  _Like the Oracle_ , Nico thinks to himself. Only, the Oracle isn't passed down to families, and Rachel hasn't been able to call out to her since the end of the war with Gaea. After about a year of waiting, she's pretty much given up on her chances of hearing from her again and has had much success putting together the Sibylline Books. 

     Potter is giving them a questioning stare and Nico decides to intervene before things get more complicated. "So the prophecy was about you. How does this lead into that war you mentioned earlier?"

     Nico almost feels bad when the man in front of him becomes stressed again. This memory is obviously something he doesn't want to remember, and forcing anyone to remember bad memories is a horrible action. Nico should know, as people often questioned him about Tartarus when the last thing he wanted to do was remember his time in that chamber of pure torture and death. He softens on the poor guy, especially when his jaw clenches again and his hands turn into fists on his robes. 

     "That prophecy predicted one of two people's deaths," Potter says in a strained voice. "Mine and an evil Dark wizard named Tom Riddle."

     Hazel gasps and drops her gold nugget on the ground as the name touches her ears. Her eyes widen and Nico's eyebrows raise in surprise. He decides to question her before they continue to conversation.

     " _Why are you so shocked? I thought yo_ _u only had an update on the most current events?_ " Nico asks her in Ancient Greek. Potter's expression turns into one of confusion, but Nico could care less right now.

     " _Tom Riddle is evil man. Interesting events hap_ _pened in Fields of Asphodel_ ," Hazel replies in the same manner and inhales deeply before exhaling and continuing. " _Rumors said people able to avoid death. Tom Riddle, Voldemort by death, sentenced by Dad to one of harshest fates in history of Fields of Punishment. Was accused of hundreds of murders, lackeys were cruel, and committed taboo of splitting soul voluntarily. Dad was ready to throw into Tartarus by death._ " While Hazel's Ancient Greek is still choppy, Nico understands well enough what she's trying to say. 

     Nico takes in the information given to him, then turns to Potter and asks, "This man, Tom Riddle, why was his death so important?"

     Potter glowers as he says, "Because there were only two people capable of being the correct person able to defeat him and I was one of them. He chose to target me and made my life a living hell from that point forwards." He looks at them with cold, hard green eyes. His eyes remind Nico of jewels: extremely hard and usually quite cold.

     When Potter realizes that they're all waiting for him to continue, he takes in a deep breath and releases it in another heavy sigh. "Before I was born, there was a war going on.  _Voldemort_ ," he says, emphasizing the word while looking at Hazel, "was targeting people that were born of muggles — muggle-borns — and people considered to be helping them. When the prophecy was made, my parents ran away and hid, but a friend of theirs that was in charge of keeping them safe became a traitor. He attacked the house and..." Potter trails off and stares out of the window before closing his eyes and saying, "...and killed both my parents. I survived the incident and I was put into the custody of my aunt and uncle."

     "For years, I grew up not knowing of my past. When I was eleven, I was reintroduced into my parents' world. Unfortunately,  _that man_  stayed alive. Throughout my entire schoolboy years, I was put through trials. When I was fourteen,  _he_  came back, completely resurrected. A war ensued. Initially, it was entirely propaganda-based. While the government attacked me, Voldemort spent his time recruiting. In my sixth year, he targeted Hogwarts. What was supposed to be my seventh and final year became a mission to kill the man. At that point, he had taken over the ministry, Hogwarts, and the entire country. My two best friends and I became fugitives and searched out a method to kill that man completely. We managed, but with several trials and scars, both physical and emotional."

     Potter exhales once more, his face how pale but his composure still as tense as ever. "The reason house unity is stressed so much nowadays is because the majority of an entire house in my year was on Voldemort's side. I won't tell you which one because I don't want you to have grievances against the house or the people in it, but many of us believe that if they would have been friendlier with those of other houses, they wouldn't have been as tempted to follow in their parents' footsteps. We don't keep the houses as separated anymore because we want to avoid the allegiance of an entire house switching over to the side of darkness." He finishes his story, closes his eyes, and practices breathing a few times. 

      Meanwhile, the demigods stare at the man in front of them in a new light since they first met him. Wars are never easy. They know that more than well enough. It doesn't mean they've suddenly become eager to give him their information, but they are willing to listen to him and they're theories of the danger these men pose mostly go away.

     "Sounds rough," Will says as he suddenly takes out an Ace bandage, wrapping it around his hand again. Nico slumps in his seat. He hasn't seen Will's coping mechanism since Christmas and he was hoping it would stay that way.

     "Will," Nico says softly as he grabs his hands. Will looks at him, and his eyebrows are furrowed. He's obviously remembering his days fighting Kronos. He's remembering the deaths of two of his own brothers. "Will, it's alright. You're still in the train. It's all passed," he says softly as he untangles the Ace bandage from Will's hand. After the Ace bandage is taken away from him, Nico grabs Will's left hand and holds it tightly.

     He turns back towards Potter, who seems to be staring at him intently. When Nico realizes what he just did, his face goes red and he looks away. He would much rather not have this conversation with anyone right now.

     Potter seems to read his mind when he says, "Don't worry. The wizarding world may be bigoted in certain aspects, but I can reassure you that your relationships won't be judged."

     Nico looks with wide eyes at him. "Really?" he says quietly as he tries to keep a calm composure.

     "Really," Potter says reassuringly. "That is, unless you're me," he then adds darkly. Nico would question him about that, but he already made him speak of a war that, while essentially not as dangerous or as significant as any of the ones they have been through, was probably just as scarring. 

     Nico feels relief as the thought that no one will look at him strangely enters his mind. "That's a relief," he mutters quietly.

     "Didn't the United States just declare marriage equality legal a few months ago?" Potter asks him curiously.

     Nico blushes. "Well, yeah, but I don't really know if I'll have the chance to see that effect me," he replies with embarrassment. The others giggle at his embarrassment, and he just about flips them off when he realizes that rude gestures transcend language barriers a lot better than words. 

     Potter chuckles and says, "No, I'm sure not. I'm just referring to the liberalism that must be required to allow such a ruling to take place. It means the world I decided to abandon is beginning to open its mind much more quickly." 

     Nico nods, his face still hot. No one speaks for a while, when, suddenly, Percy comes and opens the door. He speaks and they try to calm him, but his eyebrows are furrowed.

     "Why can I not hear you guys?"

     Potter chuckles and flicks his wand in the direction of the door. "That would be my fault. I'm sorry."

     Percy stares at Potter with narrowed eyes before saying in Ancient Greek, " _They want information on us. They know about us. They don't seem like a danger, but don't let any information loose. They might not be dangerous but we don't know how trustworthy they are."_

     All of the demigods narrow their eyes at Potter, and he seems to sense it. "What?"

     "Why did you care so much about us in the first place?" Nico says, not in an unfriendly voice but definitely tense.

     Potter narrows his own eyes. "Draco visited your cabin, didn't he?" he asks Percy with a raised eyebrow.

     Percy nods, still keeping his eyes narrowed at the professor. Potter sighs, an action he seems to be found of, and says, "As Mr. Jackson," they state at him wide-eyed as he spouts off Percy's last name, "must have informed you, we have information on you guys. We don't mean to be untrusted, but we want to ensure your safety and we don't like it when the Ministry intrudes on Hogwarts affairs. We wanted to know your reasons for being here, because getting a magical education with your family lines seems like the least likely reason to be here."

     "I'm sorry, but we don't need help, sir," Frank replies, his own eyes narrowed.

     Potter looks at them again before he sighs and says, "I didn't think so. I hope this doesn't put a bridge in your trust in either Draco or me. We do want to help you, and having staff on your side will get you out of several  problematic situations. Words directly from a troublemaker himself." He stands up, gives them what seems to be a genuinely friendly smile, and says, "If you ever need help, Draco and I are always willing to guide new students. The headmistress is usually busier, but you can also trust her in an emergency. We'll see you once the train arrives."

     He leaves the cabin on that note and walks away. Percy takes Potter's place in their compartment.

     "What happened in your compartment?" Frank asks him. 

     "The blond man from the other day came in and started asking us questions. They weren't anything serious and they were more personality and opinion-based than anything else, but we couldn't get over the fact that something was up. He started subtly trying to pry questions out of us, and I feigned motion sickness to come warn you guys," Percy tells as he grabs one of the treats they got from the cart earlier.

     Will slaps Percy's hand away as he says, "Sounds about similar to us. Only this guy was more straightforward. He told us about their war."

     "Malfoy did something similar. He started about the war, but didn't go into it. Simply that a close friend of his defeated their enemy," says Percy after giving a small pout in Will's direction.

     "Potter did," Nico adds. "He told us before you barged in that he was a playing factor in the war."

     Percy relaxes for a moment and says more softly, "At least I can relate to that." He scowls bitterly.

     "He told us he was even a part of their prophecy," Nico says with a dark, bitter tone. He then gives off a similarly bitter laugh as he rips open another Chocolate Frog and mercilessly bites into it. He feels Will grab his hand and give it a comforting squeeze.

     Before they can delve any further about their horrible pasts, Hazel interrupts them and says, "What do we do about this? They don't seem to have bad intentions, not if the headmistress herself put them in charge of us, but we have our own secrets to keep." She pauses momentarily, then adds, "At least those that they haven't discovered yet."

     They all nod at her statement. "For now, we try to block them out. They're friendly enough, but they are going to try to pry," Will suggests as he bites into his own Chocolate Frog in a significantly calmer manner than his boyfriend had. Once he swallows, he continues. "We'll be nice but avoid those topics. After all, they aren't the only ones that have mastered the art of secrets."

     Nodding together again, they relax a bit. Nico realizes that his earlier fears were uncalled for. While those men were too curious for their own good, they aren't dangerous. Not if they're willing to talk about things that even Piper, perhaps the most stable of all of them due to Aphrodite's more emotional nature, avoids mentioning on a daily basis. He decides that perhaps things might be going well for once. Now to find the torch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: THE SORTING and possibly the start of term dinner...  
> In other news, I hope you guys are patient. I'm going to be completely honest and say that, with my current schedule, you aren't going to find me updating until my next long vacation. That MIGHT not be until Christmas time, but I will try to get on before then and update the next chapter. I'll try. I hope you guys can forgive me and my ambitious nature (the reason why my class schedule is so packed with AP classes in the first place). Any comments you have, I'll probably end up answering sometime within 24 hours, but chapters are a different story. Sorry! I promise I'll make the next chapter worth it, though.


	7. Because Apparently Snakes and Lions are Significant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico, Will, and the Seven get sorted into their Hogwarts houses...  
> And the gang erroneously assumes that family members will be put in the same houses....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the support! I love all of you guys. I'm so sorry that I couldn't update faster! I've been so busy and even now I'm procrastinating on homework. You guys are amazing and here's the next chapter, much earlier than I expected to have it up. It really isn't the best, but....I hope you like it? Really, I'm sorry if this isn't my best writing, but the ideas weren't flowing. Hopefully the next one will turn out better.
> 
> Again, thank you so much for your support, especially you guys that have had to wait months for this chapter. I really do hope you enjoy this.
> 
> UPDATE: So, I noticed I added a detail in here that would simply not correlate with chapters eight and nine. Sorry! I did change that detail, and it's really only a few paragraphs.  
> Optional Challenge: Find the edited paragraphs (hint: there are five in total). Good luck!

_Harry's_   _POV_

     "So it didn't go very well with you either?" Draco asks as they make their way back to the compartment that they're sharing with their sons, as well as Teddy, Harry's god son, and Victoire Weasley, Bill's oldest daughter

     Harry shakes his head. "Nope. Jackson went straight to the compartment and warned them," he says as they reach the compartment.

     Draco opens the door to the compartment as he says, "Well, you should have stopped him by interrupting their conversation."

     "I couldn't. They spoke too quickly and in a language I didn't recognize. By the time I realized that he came as a warning, it was already too late," Harry says as they take their seats. That's when they realize that their kids are looking at them with curiosity.

     "Who were speaking a language you didn't recognize?" asks Teddy, his blue hair switching to platinum blond unconsciously. While Harry and Andromeda did manage to teach him how to control his metamorphasis when he was very young, Teddy prefers to let his emotions take over minor aspects of his appearance when he doesn't need to hide it.

     Draco and Harry look at each other and contemplate how much they can say about this. They can't say too much, and definitely not as much as they told Lucius and Narcissa.

     "You guys are getting some classmates this year," Draco replies.

     "Classmates?" Scorpius asks as a glint enters his eyes. Harry narrows his eyes.

     "Yes, classmates. Some transfer students," Harry tells him and leaves it at that.

     All four of the students try to pester more information out of Harry and Draco, but they stay tight-lipped. Instead, they successfully change the subject and continue the rest of the journey talking about their O.W.L and N.E.W.T. exams. Scorpius, Albus, and Victoire are all taking their O.W.L. exams that year and Teddy is preparing for his N.E.W.T. exams. A slight wave of melancholy hits Harry as he realizes that it has been seventeen years since he became Teddy's godfather and seventeen since Teddy's parents passed on. Harry decides to shake off the subject. He doesn't expect himself to stay composed if he ventures too far into those memories.

     Around dusk, the four students head to bathrooms and change into their robes. A few hours later, the train arrives at Hogsmeade. Harry and Draco leave the compartment, and head outside the train to where the Americans should come out. Before they do, they see Hagrid waving from where the first years are heading. Harry decides to head over there for a moment.

     Even as an adult, Harry doesn't have a hope in the world of reaching anywhere near Hagrid's eleven feet and nine inches. At his short stature of five feet and five inches, Draco's average of five feet and nine inches is pretty bloody tall. When he arrives in front of Hagrid, Harry has to stand back to avoid craning his neck to look at the half-giant.

     "Ay-up, Harry. How've you bin?" Hagrid asks him as the first years stare at him in wonder. Harry stifles a sigh. Even seventeen years later, kids can recognize him just by his first name.

     "Good, Hagrid. How has Hogwarts been?" Harry says, ignoring the first years' stares at this point.

     "Great! Some 'a them thestrals gave birth soon after school ended. How've Scorp and Al bin?"

     "They've been fine. There's not much that can sour their moods," Harry says with a laugh. " Except when Draco is constantly breathing down their backs."

     Hagrid laughs and says, "Sounds like he's doin' well. I still wonder how ya' ended up marryin' a bloody Malfoy."

     Harry chuckles. "With my luck, I'm surprised I didn't see it coming sooner." Hagrid chuckles beside him and they laugh.

     "What're the two of ya' doin' riding the train, anyway?" Hagrid asks curiously as he waits for the last of the first years to get to their location.

     Harry remembers that he hadn't even told Hagrid about the job offer. "We're replacing Slughorn and Roberts," Harry says.

     Hagrid's eyes widen. Then, he grins and says, "I never thought I'd be teachin' with my students when Professor Longbottom came around. Now I got another two b'side me."

     With a wide grin on his own face, Harry declares, "To be fair, I never though I'd be teaching with my old professors." They both laugh at that.

     When he sees the transfer students exit their compartment, Harry says good-bye to Hagrid and walks over to them. All of the demigods are being friendly, patiently waiting with Draco for Harry to arrive. Draco looks at Harry expectantly and Harry speeds up. Once he's with everyone else, Draco starts his explanation.

     "We're going to assume that you have never apparated before, so we're going to take you guys in a side-along apparition," Draco explains to the demigods, and they all nod, probably. "The wards against apparition have been taken down temporarily in the Headmistress's office, but they go back up in a few minutes, so we need to be quick."

     "Draco, can we apparate this many people up their all at once?" Harry asks him as he realizes the complications. Draco's mouth tightens as he comes to the same conclusion.

     "I don't think we should leave anyone here by themselves, though.  _Especially_  not right now," Draco replies. Harry can't help but agree with the statement. Still, he doesn't know if he can apparate five novices all at once. 

     "How about we take pairs?" Harry suggests. "The others can wait here at the station. No one is idiotic enough to attack Hogsmeade station so soon after the train arrived." Harry notices the students all narrow his eyes at the last sentence, but don't say anything. Instead, they start whispering amongst themselves in that same unknown language as earlier.

     Draco thinks about it for a moment before arguing that McGonagall might be angry if they leave people behind, but decides to go along with the plan after Harry reassures him that nothing will happen. With that in mind, they started apparating pairs to the office.

_Nico's POV_

     In Nico's opinion, shadow traveling is several times better than apparition. Not that he has anything against wizards or their magic capabilities, but the pressurized feeling of apparition just doesn't sit well in his stomach. At least shadows don't squeeze him like a black hole. 

     Nico and Will arrive inside a fancy, if not old-fashioned, office. There's portraits all around the room with the biggest one behind a large wood desk of an old man with an extremely long, white beard and equally long hair. There's another one right beside Nico on the wall of a black-haired man with a crooked nose and a solemn expression on his face. There are shelves all around the room filled with books and what Nico assumes are magical instruments. The chair behind the desk is made of fancy brown leather, although Nico can't tell whether it's real or not, and the chairs for guests are of a similar fashion in smaller size. On the desk itself is a black cloth hat that looks like the stereotypical witch's hat.

     Most of the other people have already been apparated in. Nico sees Jason and Piper standing in front of the desk, amusedly laughing at some insignificant argument Calypso and Leo are having beside them, while Percy and Annabeth are whispering quietly in a corner. An elderly woman with black hair and glasses is sitting in the chair behind the desk. Nico assumes that she's the Headmistress as he notices a small smirk of amusement enter her own stern expression.

     With a  _pop_ , Potter apparates in with Frank and Hazel. Both of them look significantly more relaxed than when they Nico and Will left the station. Now that he thinks about it, they took longer to pop in then what anyone else had. Nico doesn't have any more time to think about it as the Headmistress waves her wand, probably to close the wards, and starts speaking.

     "Thank you, Professor Potter. You too, Professor Malfoy," she tells them. The two men nod and then move to stand behind them as the Headmistress speaks.

     She looks at them with a curious expression before she straightens up and starts. "Hello and welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. My name is Minerva McGonagall, and I am going to be your headmistress for the following year," she speaks to the demigods. When they all give small nods, she continues.

     "While I would normally give you the speech I give the first years, I really don't have the time. Just know that the staff and students here are always dedicated to improving wizard society by educating themselves and that I hope you'll receive the same experience during your time here.

     "Now, before you can officially start your year, it's wise that you know about the arrangements at Hogwarts. There are four houses here that serve to arrange students into their dorms and their tables on special events. You'll each be put in one of the following four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw. Other than those two reasons, your house will not have much effect on your life here. At this moment, we'll be sorting all of you. Draco, if you will." McGonagall looks expectantly towards Malfoy, and he nods. With a wave of his wand, a simple wooden stool pops up in the middle of the room

     McGonagall stands up and grabs the hat off of her desk. She walks over to the stool. "May the first person step forward?" McGonagall asks as she waits with the hat raised in the air.

     The demigods all look at each other with narrowed eyes. They don't trust magical items very much, and this is one of those moments where they contemplate running away. McGonagall seems to sense their suspicion and sighs.

     "Can you make an exception?" she speaks to the hat, and, much to their surprise, the hat speaks back to her.

     "Sure. Which one of those two do you want me to take a look at?" the hat says in a male voice in Potter and Malfoy's directions.

     McGonagall stares at the two men and Nico suspects that they're just as excited to sit under the hat as the demigods. After a few seconds and a shove from Malfoy, Potter moves forward. He sighs and sits on the stool. "Go ahead," he says with an eye roll.

     "Ah! Potter, I'm going to be looking through your head again. This should be interesting," the hat says as McGonagall sets it down on Potter's head. "Hmm...this is interesting. Same amount of bravery, but naturally smarter than you were at eleven years old. More  _roundabout_...do you have the same aversion to Slytherin that you had when you were younger?"

     Potter shakes his head, and the hat seems to smile. "If you were attending school again, I'd definitely put you into Slytherin this time around," it says. "Too bad you aren't..." it muses with what seems to be melancholy in his voice.

     "I'm sorry, but one lifetime with Voldemort was sufficient for me," he says bitterly as McGonagall raises the hat off of his head and he stands up. "I proved the hat isn't dangerous, so send your first sacrifice over," he tells them.

     Everyone looks at each other again, when Will pushes Nico forward. When Nico looks back to give him a glare, Will is smiling at him with a bright expression. "Why me first?" he asks Will as the rest of his friends also give him similar grins.

     "Because I want to see where you end up, Sunshine. Now get going," Will replies, and Nico scowls.  _Damn it_.  _Looks like I'm stuck_ , Nico thinks to himself.

     After giving a melodramatic sigh, Nico steps forward and sits on the bench. McGonagall sets the hat on his head. What follows afterwards comes as a surprise to Nico.

      _Hmm..._  the hat speaks directly to him. No one else seems to hear it as the grins stay on their faces.  _You're quite an interesting o-_

_Oh! What is this... Strange occurrences. Occurrences that are highly unimaginable in the wizarding world. Boy, why are you here?_  the hat asks him with shock in its voice.

      _You're already looking through my memories. Why not look for yourself?_  Nico tells the hat in what he assumes is a sarcastic mental voice.

      _Well, now that I have permission..._  The hat stays quiet for a few seconds before starting again.  _How interesting... Might I suggest that you talk to Potter and Malfoy about your mission._

Nico rolls his eyes.  _I'm sorry, but we don't need the help_.

      _Independent, I see. You're a lone wolf and you do what you must to achieve your final goals. If you have to manipulate your friends in the process, you don't have too many qualms about doing that because your goals are usually harmless._

_At_   _the_   _same_   _time_ _,_   _you're_   _also_   _extremely_   _loyal_ _._   _You_   _hold_   _grudges_   _well_ _._   _You've_   _heard_   _that_   _from_   _your_   _sister_ _,_   _Bianca_ _._   _She_   _warned_   _you_ _._   _If_   _someone_   _you_   _trusted_   _hurts_   _you_ _,_   _you_   _have_   _a_   _hard_   _time_   _learning_   _to_   _trust_   _them_   _again_ _._   _If_   _you_   _trust_   _someone_ _,_   _you_   _stick_   _by_   _their_   _side_ _..._ _no_   _matter_   _how_   _much_   _it_   _hurts_   _you_   _in_   _the_   _process_ _._

Nico blanches at that. He knows exactly what the hat is talking about, and those are memories he prefers to not revisit.

      _Ah_ _..._   _You're_   _quite_   _emotionally_   _self-_ _preservative._   _That's_   _why_   _it's_   _so_   _hard_   _to_   _gain_   _your_   _trust_   _and_   _why_   _you_   _prefer_   _to_   _stick_   _alone_ _._   _You_   _don't_   _want_   _other_   _people's_   _words_   _or_   _actions_   _to_   _hurt_   _you_   _like_   _Percy_   _did_   _when_   _your_   _sister_   _never_   _returned_ _._

_That_   _doesn't_   _mean_   _you're_   _a_   _coward_ _._   _Quite_   _the_   _opposite_ _,_   _really_ _._   _Because_   _you're_   _so_   _preservative_ _,_   _you_   _trusting_   _your_   _friends_   _takes_   _an_   _incredible_   _amount_   _of_   _courage_   _and_   _bravery_ _,_   _and_   _I_   _need_   _not_   _mention_   _the_   _battles_ _,_   _both_   _physical_   _and_   _emotional_ _,_   _that_   _you_   _faced_   _on_   _the_   _warfront_ _._   _It's been such a long time since I've had a student that could pass as both a lion and a snake..._

_What is this? Sneaky and clever, I see. You know what pushes your friend's buttons, and you know how to look ahead before jumping into battle. Quite resourceful and quick-witted as well, although I would expect anyone in the situation of your world to have some level of quick thinking_... _I believe we have a clear winner here._

     "Slytherin!" the hat yells, which seems to startle all of his friends.

     McGonagall removes the hat and Nico notices that Malfoy has a grin on his face. Potter seems slightly sullen and shoves Malfoy. Malfoy shoves him back, and, for a moment, Nico begins to question their relationship. He doesn't ponder on it, though, as Hazel is pushed towards the sorting hat next. It seems as if Nico's friends went with the children of the Underworld first, being misled to believe that their parentage determines their house.

     Nico doesn't know how long his sorting took, but Hazel's takes a few minutes. He notices an array of curious expressions pass through her face. Near the end of her sorting, he starts talking to his friends.

     "Why did you guys have Hazel go next?" he asks the demigods and Calypso. They all shrug before Will gives him an answer.

     "We thought family might have something to do with the sorting, so we were curious to experiment," Will says with a shrug.

     Nico shakes his head. "That's not how it works. The hat sorts based on personality and values. Hazel and I are like day and night. She's definitely not going into Slytherin, not based on what she believes is right and wrong and who she is as a person."

     "Yeah, but she's your family. You guys have the same dad.  _Considering_   _your_   _dad_   _is_   _Hades_ _,_   _you_   _guys_   _might_   _have_   _some_   _things_   _in_   _common_ ," Jason replies.

     " _My_   _dad_   _is_   _Hades_ _._   _Hers_ _is_   _Pluto_ _._   _Anyway_ _,_   _we_   _weren't_   _even_   _raised_   _in_   _the_   _same_   _time_   _or way..._ " Nico says.

     Before he can deny their other claims, the hat shouts, "Hufflepuff!"

     "I told you guys," Nico mutters as Hazel comes up to them.

     "Hey, our theory on family isn't that far-fetched," Percy replies. "Especially not on ours."

     "I'm sorry to interrupt, but family?" Potter says behind them, and the demigods all turn to look at him.

     Hazel is the first to regain her composure, as she answers Potter's question. "Yeah. He and I are half-siblings," she says, pointing at Nico and herself respectively.  _Technically, we're all related but...why don't we avoid those disturbing thoughts?_ Nico thinks to himself. 

     Potter looks at Malfoy for a moment before Malfoy says, "Well, your theory is based only on the siblings being raised the same way and being similar enough to each other that their personalities and values are similar enough to end up in a single house. Sometimes, that's not quite the case. It depends on how they were raised separately and what their innermost personality is like _._ _"_

     Potter nods beside him. "For example, sometimes entire families ended up in the same house."

     "You mean the Weasleys?" Malfoy responds to that.

     Potter rolls his eyes at him. "Yes, Ron's family would be one of them, one of the bigger ones actually, but I'm talking about others. The Greengrasses both ended up in Slytherin. But sometimes siblings, even twins could end up in different houses." Potter turns to Malfoy and asks, "The Patil twins were in different houses, weren't they?"

     Malfoy thinks about something for a moment before nodding. "Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Right?"

     Potter nods. "Yeah. So, it really just depends. All of the houses share traits, and you don't have to fit the stereotype. Did the hat consider you two for any other houses?" he asks Nico and Hazel.

     Nico nods. "It said something about being both a lion and a snake?"

     "Gryffindor and Slytherin," Malfoy translates with a thoughtful expression.

     Hazel gives her own reply. "The hat told me that if it sorted us like any other student, it would probably put us all in Gryffindor."

     This seems to surprise Malfoy and Potter slightly. "Really? So it isn't sorting you the same way?"

     Hazel shrugs. "Apparently not."

     Both men look at each other before nodding one last time and the summoning the next person forward.

     Annabeth is pushed forward. After arguing that the big three should go first, she decides to give in. Sitting down reluctantly on the stool, she awaits the hat's decision.

     Annabeth's sorting is much quicker. In less than a minute, the hat yells "Ravenclaw!"

     Potter and Malfoy seem surprised at that, but Annabeth looks calm. Nico assumes that she got an explanation from the hat like he and Hazel had, and decides to leave it alone. Percy eagerly goes up next and McGonagall puts the hat on his head with a smirk on her own face. It's obvious to everyone in the room that Percy wants to end up in the same house as Annabeth.

     Unfortunately for him, Percy does not end up in Ravenclaw. He seems to be having an internal argument with the hat as Percy's eyebrows furrow in concentration. In about as much time as it took for Annabeth, the hat calls out, "Slytherin!"

     Percy pouts childishly at the end result, and Nico realizes that the idiot ended up in the same house as him. While Nico can't really disagree with the hat, he wonders how Percy got into what seems to be the house of the cunning. On a daily basis, Percy is about as subtle as an elephant. Which is, to say, not much.

     Jason laughs quietly much to Percy's annoyance. The rest of the group join in as he starts complaining, saying that he should have been in Ravenclaw. Annabeth disagrees with him, saying Ravenclaw probably would not have been the best house for him, to which Percy responds by glowering. 

     "Just wait until your partners end up in different houses as you," Percy grumbles. Then he perks up and pushes Will forward. 

     Nico gives him a shrug. "It's not like the houses go to school in completely different buildings," Nico says, remembering how Hazel told him that it was just the castle on the school grounds.

    “Also,” Malfoy interrupts, “the dorms are sorted by year rather than house.”

     After an understanding nod from everybody, Will moves over to the stool. McGonagall drops the hat on his head, and the hat seems genuinely intrigued with Will. His sorting takes almost longer than Hazel, and Nico starts to worry.

     Suddenly, Will closes his eyes like he's in pain, but opens them again. Nico is about to go up and ask him if he's alright, but doesn't get the chance. "Hufflepuff!" the hat yells out. Nico grins for a moment, thinking about how nice it is that at least Hazel and Will got the same house, when he sees Will's expression. He has a grin on his face, but Nico can tell that it's fake. He can see the muscles that are tense in Will's neck, and the way that Will is avoiding his eyes.

     "Are you alright?" Nico whispers to him.

     "'M fine," he whispers back, but the hand that clutches Nico's tightly, sweaty and shaking, says otherwise. 

     After Will, Leo volunteers to go next. The others don't notice, but Nico takes a chance to nod his head at Leo as he distracts the group from Will's strange behavior and from Nico and Will in general. Leo is a quick sort, the hat yelling "Ravenclaw!" after a few seconds. 

     Leo doesn't seem to mind the prospect and happily skips back to Calypso's side as Piper walks forward. After Leo's sorting, most of the others only take seconds and the hat doesn't seem to be as keenly interested in the demigods as it was before.

     Piper is sorted into Gryffindor, and Jason is as well. Potter seems happy about the Gryffindor sortings, and Malfoy seems as equally invested in Percy and him. Nico guesses that Gryffindor and Slytherin were Potter’s and Malfoy’s houses, respectively. Jason, on the other hand.

     Frank is also sorted into Hufflepuff as well, making it the most occupied house in their group. There’s much confusion as McGonagall tries to get Calypso under the Sorting Hat. When Calypso figures that out, she blushes brightly.

     "Ah, I'm not a student!" she says quickly just as the hat is about to land on her head. 

     "Really?" McGonagall asks in surprise. 

     "No," Calypso replies as she jumpsoff of the stool. "My profile shouldn't have been sent to you by the Ministry. I was a last minute addition to the group."

     McGonagall looks confused ather explanation. Calypso realizes that it sounds as if she's still a student there. "See, I graduated last year and was offered a position as an assistant teacher at Hecate's Academy. I was ordered to come along as a chaperone," she says easily, making the lie sound as if it's actually the truth.

     McGonagall nods her head atthat explanation. "Well then, Miss..."

     "Valdez," Calypso answers easily.

     McGonagall looks at her strangely, and Nico realizes that she's probably remembering back to Leo's student profile. He holds in a groan, aware of how suspicious that makes them look. He relaxes when McGonagall simply continues talking. "Miss Valdez. I will have someone lead you to one of the guest quarters and will tell the elves to set another place on the staff table for tonight's feast. Harry, will you please lead her there?"

     Potter nods and Calypso looks at the group. They all nod at her. She gives a nod back. "That will be fine with me."

     "Very well, then. Harry, you're going to the guests quarters in the dungeons near Draco's quarters," McGonagall says, and Potter leads Calypso out with another nod.

     Once those two are out of the room, McGonagall looks at them. Her stare is now more calculating.

     "Now that we have got all of you sorted, I would like each of you to fill out this piece of parchment. You will be choosing at least two elective classes. I realize it's on short notice, but you'll be receiving your time tables tomorrow," McGonagall says as she summons what seems to be heavy and high-quality paper and quills with bottles of ink. 

     They grab the items, and notice that one of the pieces of parchment has writing on it. As they look through the electives, Nico is about to chooses the two that seem the most familiar. In his case, that would be Arithmancy and Muggle Studies. When he realizes that the second class would be simply information about things he already knows, he chooses to take Study of Ancient Runes and Technology instead. He's almost surprised at the class, until he remembers that several people in Diagon Alley were wearing normal clothing, even those whom looked like they were magical aristocrats. 

     "What did you choose?" he asks Hazel as he finishes writing out his list.

     "Care of Animate Organisms and Modern Civics in Wizarding United Kingdom," Hazel replies as she finishes writing her subjects down.

     He gives an understanding nod as he hands their papers to the headmistress. When she receives the final pieces of parchment, she stands up and directs them to go to the Great Hall and go sit down with their tables. They all give quick nods and follow Professor Malfoy to the Great Hall.

     As the groups walks through the halls, Nico looks around in amazement. Portraits all over the place are staring at them and talking to each other. Stairways criss-cross all over the place, and an awkwards yet strangely comforting mix of torches and electric lamps are hanging all over the place. Nico evens gets to experience what Malfoy describes as the "annoying moving stairway when you're two floors above class and you have thirty seconds left to get there." The groups chuckles as he curses the stairway tha forces him to take a three minute detour through another hallway.

     When they finally reach the Great Hall, Malfoy turns to them and gives them what Nico thinks could be an encouraging speech but he really isn't sure.

     "When you get in there, people are going to stare at you. Just ignore the stares, act like you've been here your entire life, and people will starts ignoring you. Good luck," he tells them, then moves out of the way to allow them in.

     The entire group gapes at the view in front of them. Candles float throughout the ceiling and large windows surround the hall. At the front of the hall, there is a long table raised above the others. Nico assumes its the staff table as he sees Potter already sitting there with Calypso a few seats away and a overly-decorated chair in the middle that he assumes belongs to the headmistress. In front of that table are for long tables crossing the room. Each table is color coded — green, blue, yellow, and red, from left to right — but they seem well integrated. Nico can see several people wearing a different color than the house table that they're sitting on. 

     Nico looks at his friends and asks, "What about sacrifices?"

     Annabeth looks around and scowls. "You and Percy have it easier. There's a fireplace right beside your table. She looks in the other direction and sees a fireplace on the other side. Then, she glares at Jason and Piper, who decide to make no comment and instead look at any place except Annabeth.

     "Hey, how about we just stick around until everyone leaves. Then you can just make a sacrifice then," says Frank as he tries to make peace. Annabeth simply nods and then they all come to the conclusion that they're trying to avoid getting separated.

     Will sighs and says, "We should probably sit down before more people turn to stare at us."

     Nico looks around one last time, then heads towards his table as he mumbles a quick bye.  _Guess_ _it's_   _time_ , he thinks to himself with a sigh.


	8. Sortings and the History of Juxtapositions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy and Nico experience their first dinner at Hogwarts. Nico learns that he's not alone in wizarding society. The demigods get their first glimpse at the effects of the war and learn about the new danger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I'm so sorry for being unable to update and I'm so happy that you guys are continuing to support me, even though I update like once every two or three months. I'm just happy I could update before Thanksgiving break ended! This is another of my shorter chapters, but I hope you guys like it. I know it's slow-going, but I never planned for this to go quickly. I want this to go slowly so the introduction of one world to another seems more realistic (if one can even say that about a fanfiction on wizards and Greek demigods).  
> On another note, THANK YOU. Really. I'm so happy that this fic has gotten so many hits. It's so incredible and hard to believe. I can't imagine that one thousand people have looked and maybe sorta kinda liked it.  
> To end this note, I just want to tell everyone that my next update won't be until my Christmas break. I'm going to be so busy before then, so I just wanted you guys to know that. Anyway, enjoy!

    Scorpius did not feel very comfortable.

    His discomfort had started when his father went strolling through the doorway to his seat and the transfer students strolled through the doorway the next moment. Well, stroll is really not the correct word. Their steps were too cautious and paranoid to be considered a _stroll_. It was more as if the transfers had managed a stiff crawl through the door, only while walking. They had certainly attracted as many scrutinizing stares as if they had crawled through the Great Hall doors.

     At first, Scorp didn't expect any of the transfers to head in their direction. When he first saw them, he only took notice of their appearance. They were all ordinary-looking, except for perhaps the multi-cultural aspect still uncommon to Hogwarts. After staring at them for a few seconds, both boys started to notice more obscure details about them that made them seem closed off, almost as if they were inside their own private universe. They carried themselves in a paranoid fashion, with stiff stances and tensed shoulders. They stood huddled together, giving off a feeling of some otherworldly force shielding them from everything around them. They were abnormally cut off frem everyone else.

    When one of them split off from the others, it was a strange sight and had several people in the Great Hall staring at the boy with wonder. From what Scorpius could tell, the boy seemed to be about his age. His hair, reaching down to his neck, was brown and messily wavy. He looked like he was cronically sleep-deprived and his face was in a constant glare. Scorpius had to look away when the boy almost looked at him, but the boy was interrupted when an older boy ran up to him. The younger of the two looked like he was going to start arguing with the older, but instead just closed his eyes and gave a sigh. Then, Scorpius met the younger boy's eyes and automatically looked away from embarrassment.

    "Scorpius, the guys are coming in our direction," Albus hissed in Scorpius's ear as Scorpius looked down at his desert. "What did you do?"

     Scorpius looked at his brother with incredulity. While he can admit that he has mocked the first years before, he isn't particularly stupid or rash. These guys don't look like the type of people Scorpius should be messing around with.

    Albus raised his arms in defeat and said, "Okay, okay. You didn't do anything. I get it."

    Scorpius narrowed his eyes for a moment before saying, "Good."

    Before Albus has a chance to speak, the two teens reached their section of the table. Both of them had their eyes trained on Albus. While Albus gave them both a friendly smile, Scorpius glared at them. People have always told them that, while they seem to act alike, one would be able to tell just by personality who raised who when it came to their interations with people. Albus is friendlier and more accepting. He understands the benefits of having people there who truly have his back, who would truly stick with him in a dangerous situation. On the other hand, Scorpius knows the benefits of, as Harry told him Alastor Moody would often say, "constant vigilance." He knows that there are people, like Albus, who know how to manipulate other people for their benefit. Albus isn't particularly manipulative, and he certainly wouldn't ever abandon someone that needs help (obviously traits from Harry in Scorpius's opinion), but he also knows when he needs to convince people of doing what he wants. And he's damn good at it as well. To conclude, Scorpius is the one that everyone hates on first site, and not just because his father was a Death Eater.

    "Can we sit here?" the older of the boys asked them, and both immediately became more wary. The older boy could've gone with the upperclassmen, where he belonged and where he would probably feel most comfortable. If anything, the younger one would have been the one asking to sit down, not the older.

    "Sure," Albus said cautiously as he observed their actions carefully.

    As of now, the two guys are talking in what might as well be Celtic, for Albus and Socrpius could understand none of their words.

    " _This is quite uncomfortable,_ " Scorpius starts in French.

    " _Yes. What do you think they want?_ " Albus replies in an accented French.

    " _I don't know. Remember what Father and Dad told us?_ " Scorpius says. " _They don't even seem like wizards. They're too...rough. Almost as if they've living in an anarchist society._ "

    Albus and Socrpius turn toward the two men and subtly take small glances at them as they eat. Scorpius notices the younger guy is more stoic. He shows emotion a lot less, while the other boy is a lot more loose, but with that same tense stature that he noticed earlier. One is like a bird - relaxed but on the lookout for danger - while the other is like a stereotypical Slytherin snake - always on the lookout for opportunity and ready to attack at moment's notice.

    Suddenly, the quit talking and take note of the awkward atmosphere. They stay silent for a moment before the older one says, "We never introduced ourselves, did we?"

    Albus and Scorpius shake their heads.

    "Sorry. I'm Percy Jackson. I'm in seventh year," he says, "The moody one beside me is Nico di Angelo. He's a fifth year. Nice to meet you." Neither offers his hand, although the older plasters a friendly grin on his face. The younger one ironically glowers at being called "moody."

    "Kudos. I'm Albus. Fifth year," says Scorpius's brother from beside him.

    "I'm Scorpius. Same year." It wasn't particularly friendly nor was the two boys' reactions to his introduction normal, but Scorpius was used to it. It ensures that the people that stick around make an effort to get to know him.

    Both guys nod, and then start grabbing food. Suddenly, the younger one, di Angelo, drops his fork and remarks, "You guys are brothers, aren't you?"

    Albus and Scorpius look at each other. They look back to the two guys and give simultaneous nods. At first, it was a practiced action to try and creep out the people around them, but it slowly became more habitual.

    Di Angelo looks back and forth between them, and Scorpius stares at him in confusion. He can tell from his periphrial vision that Albus is doing the same. This goes on for a few seconds until di Angelo looks up at the head table, and suddenly his shock makes sense.

    Scorpius raises an eyebrow and comments, "Is there a problem?"

    Di Angelo looks back at him and glares for a moment. "Not really," he replies, and then goes back to eating.

_Nico di Angelo_

    " _You're curious, aren't you_ ," Percy asks in Ancient Greek. No one thought of using it before as a way to talk to fellow demigods without giving themselves away to everyone else until the satyrs started having problems recruiting demigods. Now, it's the common language among demigods when there's classified information is involved, and Nico appreciates it greatly, unless incidents like these happen. If the two brothers in front of him were able to understand Ancient Greek, Percy would not be forcing Nico to have this conversation.

    " _Shut up_ ," Nico replied, praying to every deity he can think of that the heat on his face is not showing through.

    " _C'mon. You and Will went balistic a few months ago. You can't just tell me that you don't care about this. Not when it means that you can be open. Wasn't that the thing you were most afraid of when we left New York?_ " Percy says with a grin on his face.

    " _I don't want to talk about this, Jackson_ ," Nico replies after taking another bite of the piece of ham in front of him.

    Percy rolls his eyes and sarcastically says, " _Oh, look who took out the big guns. Sorry, Di Angelo, but we're talking about this._ "

    " _No we're not_."

    " _Yes we are._ "

    " _We sound like five year olds, Jackson._ " 

    Before Percy gets a chance to speak, the blond of the two brothers, Scorpius, says, "I hate to interrupt your argument, but is there something you're curious about?"

    At that moment, Nico goes to cover Percy's mouth with his hand, but Percy, knowing that Nico is a germaphobe, licks it. Scowling, Nico pulls away, and Percy triumphantly asks, "What are the marriage laws here?"

    The two brothers look at each other, then at each of them. Rather than answer Percy's question, the inky-haired one, Albus, asks, "Are you two..." He trails off, unable to continue his question.

    Nico blushes furiously, embarrassing memories resurfacing from the depths of his mind. 

    "No! No. I'm straight, and he's dating the sixth year blond at the yellow and black table," Percy says, Nico noticing his face turning a scarlet red. Then, Nico blushes even more.

    "Thanks a lot for the defending me," he mutters as he stabs the meat in front of him.

    "No problem," Percy says, deciding to ignore Nico's sarcasm. Then, he looks expectantly towards the two boys. 

    They stay quiet for a moment. "Marriage laws, right?" asks Albus. Nico and Percy nod. "Well, to be honest, they were minimal before our dads got married, but started increasing exponentially after their marriage. Before, the marriage option was available, but it often came under the scrutiny of government officials. It was mostly the pureblooded families that tolerated it to certain limits, and that was mainly because blood heirs were a possibility through an affair. There weren't many rights to non-heterosexual couples. If one of the partners died, his or her inheritence usually went to another member of that family rather than the spouse. It's a lot like how women were treated in the muggle world until a few centuries ago."

    Percy and Nico look at each other. Then, Nico looks back at them and asks, "Would your fathers' marriage affecting marriage laws so deeply have anything to do with his role in your war?"

    "Well, yes. That's part of it, but I think you don't understand the rift that was created with their marriage," says Scorpius. 

    "Why?"

    The two boys look at Nico and Percy, then have a silent conversation in French. Nico awkwardly sits there picking at his food. While everything on the table looks and smells delicious, Nico doesn't have much of an appetite for the type of buffet offered to him. 

    "Our fathers haven't always been on the friendliest of terms," starts Scorpius. "From what we've learned, their rivalry started with their house sorting. My father was put into Slytherin, and Albus's in Gryffindor. Already, the values of their houses and the house rivalry of the time would set them up against each other. They were the leaders of their houses in their year. They were pretty much pushed into a school life of rivalry. Not only that, but our fathers kept deep connections with those values without ever questioning them. It led to disaster later in their lives."

    For the next part, Scorpius lets Albus talk. "By their sixth year in school, Voldemort had come back and he was marking. Scorp's father was the youngest of the new recruits."

    Nico suddenly understood Potter's reasoning for refusing to name the house that Riddle recruited from. If he had known beforehand that the notorious house was Slytherin, he doesn't think he would have allowed himself to end up in the house. 

    "Don't judge just yet," Scorpius interrupts as he notices Nico's expression. "My father was pushed into his position, just like pretty much anything else in his life. He wanted nothing to do with the war, but my grandmother and grandfather were being threatened. It was their necks if he couldn't complete the task he was given.

    "When the war ended, our fathers separated. My father, and most other followers of Voldemort, had no chances here in England, here where the war had hit hardest. I grew up in France while my grandmother and grandfather made connections with Harry. Then, soon before I came to Hogwarts, my dad discovered his sexual orientation and he and my mother divorced. My father came back to England to take me to school here. It was then that he met Al's dad."

    "My dad, unlike Draco, found out long before I started going to Hogwarts. He accepted anything he felt about Draco, and let go of the negatives. I'm not going to go into details, but all hell broke loose when our fathers got engaged during our third year. Their marriage became a controversy. Former Death Eater marries Boy who Lived. That was the title they gave the Daily Prophet the next morning after the news leaked. People were furious, not only because it was a homosexual couple, but because it was full of contradictions. There were conspiracy theories flying all over the place about what Draco had done to my dad. They only inflamed more when marriage laws came into the picture, but nothing stopped the marriage.

    "When the marriage happened, that's when our dads realized that they were going to have troubles with the law. They fought hard to improve marriage equality and to give benefits to those couples. Neither lacked anything, really, but they knew that not everyone was so lucky. Their marriage became the iconic marriage. Both as a movement to get away from the prejudice of the previous generation and as a movement towards LGBT-plus rights in the wizarding world. Laws now are much more inclusive and discrimination against someone was stretched to include sexual orientation and gender identity." Albus's last words ring a deep note in Nico's mind. While he can't imagine himself getting married, a society's policies on marriage usually give a pretty good picture of the tolerance and acceptance of differences in that society. 

    "Just don't worry about it. No one really cares what you are anymore. Al is questioning, and I'm bi," Scorpius tells Nico. Nico is shocked at the information, but he hides it under a blank mask and nods. 

    "I'm not questioning, you git," Albus mutters under his breath, Nico fearing that the heat evident on his face is going to make him combust soon.

    "That's not what you said when you were checking out Chen Chang in the library last week, you bloody prat," Scorpius says loudly enough that a few people around them turn to look at Albus. Albus turns away from everyone and takes invested interest in his food. 

    Nico hides a laugh under a cough and continues eating his own food. When it becomes evident that the conversation is over, Nico quietly finishes his dinner. While the conversation did help calm down some of his bigger fears, his sexuality is something he would still not prefer to talk about. An instinctual urge to run out of the nearest door still struck him every time someone else found out. 

    When the headmistress enters, it's shocking how quickly the room quiets down. McGonagall heads onto the platform at the front of the Great Hall, a row of elementary-school age students trailing behind her. _These must be the new students for the year_ , Nico thinks to himself. 

    "Welcome back, everyone, to another year at Hogwarts. It's that time of the year to sort the first years again!" The young students all look like they might pee their pants. 

    Nico finds the house sortation intriguing. It reminds him of bonfire nights back at camp, the event where new campers were most commonly claimed. The young students look just as nervous as the new campers, fidgeting with brand new robes and preferring to look at their feet or another fellow first year instead of the crowd or the professors' table. 

    When the sorting is over, Nico looks down each of the tables at the new years. It seems to be a fairly equal separation, but Nico wonders how many of those in his house were sorted simply because of their family names. 

    "That's more muggleborns this year than any so far," Scorpius comments to Albus.

    "How do you know?" Percy asks the two boys.

    "Their family names," Albus says. "Draco made Scorpius learn every pureblood and halfblood family name and any vital information about them, including the threat they pose to Scorpius if their affiliation in the war stood with Voldemort. That included who they married and their children. I, in turn, was forced to learn them because they were a threat to me as a Potter."

    "There are twenty-three new Slytherins in first year, of which I didn't recognize twelve names. Those are either muggleborn kids or descendants of more obscure half-blood lines," Scorpius adds on to his explanation.

    "Twelve out of twenty-three? That's at most a..." Albus trails off and starts muttering to himself. A moment later, he continues his thought. "That's at most a composition of fifty-two percent muggleborn."

    Percy stares at the boy with wide-eyes and asks, "How did you do that?"

    "Do what?"

    "Math that quickly. The only people I know who can do math that quickly are chil-..uh...people in the Athena dorms," Percy says, catching his mistake before giving it away.

    "I just can. My dad took me to muggle school before coming to Hogwarts," Albus says with a shrug. 

    "Yeah, but muggle school doesn't teach you that much," Scorpius muttered under his breath. "He should have been a Ravenclaw, I _swear_ ," Scorpius says more loudly this time. 

    Before anyone has a chance to make another comment, the headmistress begins talking again. "It's a pleasure to see you all back at Hogwarts for another year," McGonagall says from the head table. "Before I give you the yearly reminders..."

    "That no one will follow," Scorpius whispers.

    "...I ask you all to give a moment of silence to the families of thirteen students who were attacked over the break."

    Silence ensues and the Hall goes quiet. Nico becomes intruiged in these attacks. While there's a long shot that it has anything to do with the torch, there might be something to start with in the information she gives. 

    After a moment, Headmistress McGonagall begins talking again. Nico takes note of the respect that is shown towards her. She was recommended as one of the people to go to in case of an emergency. "Both the Hogwarts Board of Governers and the Ministry of Magic have decided that the threat posed by these attacks are too dangerous to take lightly. Until the Ministry has solved the cases, both have decided to station Aurors at Hogwarts. Any student wishing to go out on Hogsmaede weekends will be required to check out with both your Head of House and one of the several Aurors that will be roaming the grounds."

    Whispers start around the school and the elderly witch at the stand takes a moment to wait until the noise dies down. When it's once again quiet enough to speak, she moves on. "Also, we have two new professors teaching this year after the retirements of both Professors Slughorn and Domitius. Proffessors Potter and Malfoy, will you please rise?" 

    Nico looks at the end of the table, where Calypso is sitting with the two men, and sees them both rise. Potter looks confident but relaxed. He gives the students an easy smile and Nico looks around to see the entire room except a few students, mainly fourth, fifth, and sixth years, giving him awe-struck stares. A few of the awe-struck even have their jaws hanging down comically, like they can't believe who they're seeing. _Guess that must be the celebrity effect._ Nico knows that these kids most likely grew up hearing stories of Potter from their parents, and maybe even some of their siblings. The only table that doesn't seem as greatly affected is the Slytherin table, and Nico assumes that's either because it's the table most full of purebloods or the fact that Potter's kid is in their house.

    He then takes a closer look at Malfoy and sees that he's not nearly as composed as Potter. While he has a poker face, giving signs tell that he would much rather prefer not to have the attention directed at him. He's clenching his hands at his sides and he's grinding his teeth. There's a slight furrow in between his eyebrows, too insignificant to someone that hasn't been taught how to read body language in battle. He doesn't give a smile, but he also seems like he's more afraid of the students' response rather than trying to intimidate them. 

    "It just had to be another fucking Malfoy, didn't it," Nico hears the person beside him tell to his girlfriend. While Malfoy certainly isn't warm or friendly, Nico finds it hard to believe that he could _harm_ anyone. Although he's ready to say something, Albus beats him to it. 

    "Hey, just shut up, Goyle. You're the only one in your family that hasn't forgiven Draco, and it's childish. Maybe you should get a life?" he growls at the kid apparently named Goyle. Nico almost expects the boy to retreat, but he doesn't. Although his large stature would be inhibiting in a fight concerning magic, he looks ready to start one himself.

    "Why don't you go away, Potter. Go take your gay ass back to Gryffindor where it belongs," Goyle says, and Nico resists the urge to suck enough life out of this guy to knock him out for a few weeks.

    "Goyle, you don't talk like that to my broth-" Scorpius starts, but a voice from behind him interrupts them.

    "Is there a problem here?" Nico turns around and sees an older guy with metallic turquiose hair and gray eyes looking at them. 

    "Fuck off, Lupin," Goyle says from beside Nico. The guy, whose last name is apparently Lupin, frowns, his hair turning a scarlet red. Nico would be surprised if he hadn't seen weirder before. 

    "Talking back to a Head Boy or Girl puts you on run for points. Just cause Al and Scorp are family doesn't mean I won't take away points from Slytherin," says the guy, and Albus and Scorpius give simultaneous hisses.

    "Shut up now, Goyle. We've won the cup for the past eight years. Do you want to put this year to a bad start?" Albus says in a foreboding manner.

    Goyle looks conflicted, but apparently his house pride wins over his need to insult Lupin. He decides to ignore them and opts to slide far away from them that he doesn't hear the following conversation.

    "Thanks for the help, Ted," Scorpius whispers. 

    "No problem. Goyle's one of the last people with that stupid pureblooded grudge. He really needs to get over himself," Lupin tells his apparent family members. "Anyway, I have to get back to my table. And be more careful next time. You guys were causing a scene."

    Nico looks around and realizes that the entire room, including McGonagall, is looking right at them. He turns back around and looks down at the table. This is the type of attention he prefer would just disappear, even if it isn't directed at him.

    Lupin heads back to his own table, and McGonagall continues with her announcements. "Another new aspect to this year are the following transfer students from Hecate Academy of Magic in the United States: Seventh years Perseus Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Jason Grace; sixth years Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, and William Solace; fifth year Nico di Angelo; and fourth year Hazel Levesque. If you would please stand." 

    Nico doesn't choose to stand up. Percy grabs the sleeve of his robe and pulls him up with him. Preferring to keep his shoulder in the correct location, Nico wills himself up the rest of the way. He looks at Percy's back, deciding it is the sight that will make him the least nervous. 

    "Thank you," Nico takes that as his queue to sit down and gladly drops back to his seat the quickest of all of them. "A few reminders from other teachers: the Forbidden Forest is, as its name suggests, _forbidden_. Anyone caught in there will be required to clean a dungeon currently filled with cauldrons under the supervision of Professor Snape's portrait. Curfew is at nine in the evening. Any younger students caught outside of his or her respective housing area after that time will be assigned detention. For those in fifth year and above, curfew is at eleven in the evening. You are expected to be in your rooms at that time and will be assigned detention if you are not. Holiday curfew extends two hours for seventh year students during test time and one hour for all others. Prefects, you may lead the students to their dorms."

    The food on the table disappears and everyone stands up. A prefect comes up to them and says, "Fifth year dorm password for the next two weeks is 'Pygmypuff'. Spread it to your friends." 

    Albus and Scorpius nod. Everyone is led away from the tables, but Albus and Scorpius don't move. They're looking at Percy expectantly.

    "What?" Percy asks in confusion. 

    "You're a seventh year, Jackson. You're supposed to be following them," Scorpius says as he nods in the direction of the oldest students. 

    Percy looks uneasy as he looks between Nico and the two fifth years. " _Go_ ," Nico says in Ancient Greek as he looks at Percy.

    " _But what if something happens in your dorm?_ " Percy replies.

    " _I doubt anything will happen. These two are absolutely harmless. Maybe curious, but I'm pretty sure you're the bigger threat to our secret than I am, Percy_ ," Nico tells him as reassurance. 

    Percy looks uneasily at him and the two brothers, then walks away towards the seventh years. " _Be careful. We never know what could be hiding within these wall._ "

    " _Okay._ " 

    Nico follows the fifth years. _It's time_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Percy and Nico get to meet their roommates and the first day of classes ensues.


	9. Hogwarts is Modern and Magic is Hard (Incomplete)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico sees that Hogwarts is a lot more modern than he thought and the demigods learn that magic isn't as easy as they might have expected it to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that I didn't update during Christmas like I promised. Merry late Christmas (and Happy Holidays for you non-Christians). I've been tying to finish my Spanish stuff, which has been taking up a lot of my time. I was planning to update this weekend at the latest, but I don't think that'll happen.  
> I'm also really sorry that this chapter is so short and incomplete. First chance I get, I will come back and finish this chapter, but I feel like I at least owe you guys this much for your support. I'm sorry once again, and I hope you stick around to see the chapter completed. Thank you so much once again for how supportive you guys have been.
> 
> UPDATE: I'm abandoning this work! Sorry, but I'm not very good at working with incomplete canon (and all of Uncle Rick's additions are only making things difficult). Instead, you can read a continuation of this work by Menya_Savut at this link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/8048191/chapters/18434914

POV: Nico di Angelo

Everywhere Nico looks, he sees stone walls and people joyously moving around within their portraits. In one particular painting, a young couple, dressed in the lavish clothing of medieval nobility, making heart-eyes at each other and having a whispered conversation with each other. In another, he sees a crimson dragon--with leathery wings and a tail with a spade at the tip--moving around above a village of wood cottages. One villager, a knight dressed in polished armor, is holding a sword in mock-defense, as if the dragon weren’t about to attack. Then, Nico realizes that it won’t attack because the dragon has no motivation to attack. It was the painter that originally put the creature into that position. 

Ahead of Nico, people’s shoes click-clack against the ground as they move towards their respective destinations. The people around him are all dressed similar to him, except that he’s the only fifth year lacking the decorative accessories of his house. Also, he notices that several people from all four houses carry an aristocratic air. They act casually, but their posture and speech give away a special type of education that is available only to nobility. 

“Is there something you would like to ask us, Di Angelo?” asks Scorpius as he stops and lays his arm on Nico’s shoulder. Nico instinctively flinches away and is about pull out his sword, but the stares he receives stop him and he rethinks what he’s about to do. Luckily, Nico still hasn’t pulled out his sword and just looks like he’s grabbing at something on his waist (he believes it might be a chain because of one passerby’s comment earlier that day). 

Nico takes a deep breath and lets his arm fall. He looks up, only to see that Scorpius and Albus are giving him equal stares of part confusion and part curiosity. Their eyebrows are raised, but Albus is tilting his head, giving away an interest in Nico. Darn it, Nico thinks to himself. He’s going to have to be careful from now on.

Nico attempts to disperse the awkward silence of the moment by answering Scorpuis’s question. “I was wondering about a class system here.”

Scorpius nods with understanding without giving himself time to register the topic, then he stares at Nico with a glare. A normal person might be scared of that glare, but Nico has seen much worse than the anger of a fifteen-year-old mortal. 

Albus interrupts Scorpius’s glare by answering the question himself. “The closest thing to a class system nowadays might be the blood status system that tends to permeate politics every once in a while, but there is no official nobility system. There are families that tend to be associated with aristocracy, though. Why do you ask?”

“I was simply curious. A lot of the people here give off an aristocratic aura,” Nico replies as they start walking again.

“Oh. Well, yeah. While most of the wizards here are muggleborn or half-bloods, there are still a couple of purebloods roaming around in all of the houses. Scorpius is pureblooded,” Albus says, and Scorpius hits his arm with a genuine scowl on his face.

Nico remembers what was told to him earlier about the Potter-Malfoy relationship. “Is Goyle pureblood? Is that why he treats you and your father the way he does?” Nico asks Scorpius, but looks ahead of him. If there’s something Nico knows from both sides, it’s that people will become defensive when they are asked particularly personal questions. 

Nico can hear Scorpius skid to a halt behind him, and turns around. Scorpius looks ready to get unnecessarily defensive, but Albus calms him down by giving him a hard pat on the back. “Goyle’s family is indeed pureblooded. He’s one of few people left that are still bitter of the Malfoys’ betrayal near the end of the war. Even his dad, who was one of Draco’s lackeys years ago, got over their issues,” Albus explains for Scorpius while Scorpius looks down and to Nico’s right, where the railing on the staircase is. 

Nico knows that expression much better than a lot of people might guess. Nico has felt that rigid stance that indicates the creation of a barrier between himself and the other person. Clenched fists and grinding teeth give away an ashamed anger, wanting to defend his family more than anything else, because what else is a person supposed to do when his family is constantly attacked for choosing the correct path, even if it meant betrayal? What else is a person supposed to do when they know they made the right choice, but no one seems to trust them? Sympathy overtakes Nico when he realizes that Scorpius might not be as blind to the world’s prejudice as he makes the world believe he is. 

“That sounds a lot like how people tend to see me as a...fatal aspect of their lives because of my father,” Nico says. When he reflects on it later, Nico doesn’t know why he says those words, but, in that moment, the only thought that crosses his mind is that there is a platinum-blond boy that needs comforting. He needs to know that people tend to see the children as a reflection of the parents. 

It works. In that moment, Scorpius stares at him in a mixture of confusion, awe, and another emotion that appears to be appreciation. His eyes are wide this time, but out of shock that Nico understands his situation rather than because of Nico’s reaction. Nico just shrugs when Scorpius opens his mouth, preferring to not talk about it further. 

“Is the prejudice towards those that switched sides during the war high strung, or is Malfoy just particularly interesting to purebloods?” Nico asks Albus, knowing that Scorpius is not going to want to answer any more questions. Nico has a newfound sympathy towards the boy, who has grown up constantly compared to his father and seen just as dangerous or cowardly. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Nico asks himself as he waits for an answer to his question.

Albus thinks for a moment, looking up at the ceiling. “I didn’t really think about it earlier, but the attacks lately have been happening to purebloods that were on or switched over to the light side as well as muggleborns,” Albus muses to himself. 

“Attacks?” Nico questions with intrigue. This is the closest Nico has been to finding out anything about instability in the wizard world past the social and political aspects. Social and political can tell a lot, but an issue isn’t considered serious in a society until someone has taken the chance to start a fight with someone else over the topic. 

 Albus stares at Nico as if he’s been living under a rock his entire life. “Are you sure you’re coming from wizarding America?”

Nico automatically applies his poker face and says, “Yeah. My friends and I are all from non-wizarding parents, though, so we tend to be out of the loop with recent events.” Sometimes, Nico thanks whatever immortal being that’s in his direct ancestry and is an impulsive liar for being so. It makes things significantly easier whenever he needs to come up with excuses, and, after living in the world of demigods for so long, his compulsive lying has basically become a habit. 

Albus stares at him with suspicion, but decides to accept Nico’s explanation and starts walking again, giving Scorpius a shove to get him walking as well. “Lately, there have been terror attacks here in England. Had you been looking at the news lately, the attacks have been reported on international stations all over the planet. During the last war, all countries cut off their borders and kept a strict watch on all pure blood supremacists in an attempt to avoid having to fight the war in their own countries. The attacks have incited panic in other countries because they reflect the war. It was stated at dinner that thirteen students lost one or more members of their families in the attacks. All of those students are either children of people that fought directly for the light or children of people that switched over to the light during the course of the war. The suspicions right now are falling on the shoulders of certain pure blood families, although they deny having the power to carry out the attacks as they were.”

“As they were carried out?” Nico asks curiously. He needs to gather all the details before he starts creating hypotheses, but pieces of the puzzle start falling in place. He just needs to make sure all of the information he can get correlates with his theory. 

“The attacks are impossible to trace. The magic is unfamiliar. It’s tainted with something unrecognizable. The actual attacks happen so quickly that they happen before anyone can see them happen. It’s as if a gust of wind blows into the house and starts a mass killing of the people in the house. The barriers don’t detect anything until it’s far too late and every family that’s been attacked testifies that they can’t sense the attacker at all. It should technically be impossible to carry out an attack that way, since invisibility cloaks only hinder sight and disillusionment charms tend to be unstable at best,” Albus explains to Nico as they arrive to where there is a line of fifth years. 

Bingo. Chiron had told them that the blessed had helped in the theft of the torch, but why would a demigod, several times more powerful than any wizard and more often in contact with the gods, need the help of a people who do not even remember their own past? Also, with all the reforms that have been going on in the Greek and Roman realms, it did not make sense that a demigod would want to start another war. Most of them are still tired and recovering from the psychological wounds inflicted on them by the war. Those that did not participate in the war were likely too young to know who or what they are. It simply made no sense for a demigod from either world to want to wage another war.

On the other hand, if a wizard wanted to become more powerful, the torch would become a highly beneficial artifact. Not only would it give the wizard some of Hecate’s magic, but it would also amplify that person’s own inborn magic. Hecate’s torch in a normal mortal’s hands could be disastrous. Hecate’s torch in a wizard’s hands, under the correct circumstances, could become apocalyptic. What’s better to hide one’s own magic than by burying under dozens of layers of unrecognizable Greek magic? Also, the wizards rely on magic far too much to know how to fight the effects of the mist.

Now that he was finally onto something, Nico was going to go and try to find WIll, but he realized that it would look far too suspicious. Instead, he decided to wait until later and shadow travel into Will’s room. It would attract the least attention, albeit the slight risk he acquired in shadow traveling into an unknown area (Percy still persisted in reminding him that he had landed in China). 

In the meantime, he paid attention to the scenery in front of him. The entrance to the fifth year dorms was apparently a painting of a large cobra. It was coiled around a large tree and was hissing at the people in front of him. That wasn’t the most interesting part of the scenery, though. 

“Why must I guard these incompetent humans? They do not have the ability to understand the sophisticated speech of snakes.” The snake pauses. “Oh yeah,” the snake deadpans. “I’m the only animal portrait in the entire school that can understand human speech.” Nico swears he sees the beady black eyes of the snake roll, but he isn’t focusing enough to be able to tell.

Instead, Nico is more worried about the fact that he can understand the snake at all. What was it he called it? Snake speech, Nico’s subconscious reminds him. He wonders whether it’s just a common thing among wizards, but then remembers that the snake is looking down on the fifth years because they can’t understand him. It’s probably one of those extra abilities Hecate added on for the ride, Nico thinks to himself. He decides to accept that explanation and leave it alone. 

The person at the front of the line gives the dorm password. “Yes, human. You may enter,” the snake says with the attitude of a fourteen-year-old. The portrait opens to reveal an entrance way. As people walk through, Nico is slowly able to make out the scene in front of him. At the far-end corners of the room are two spiral staircases--one with alternating yellow and black steps on the left and the other with similarly alternating silver and emerald green steps on the right--leading up to a second level balcony with a cross-shaped walkway connecting the balcony on all four directions. The center of the walkway is a circular reading area, and electric lights are embedded on the bottom of the walkway. There’s books all along the walls on the second level, except where there are entrances into separate hallways on the side walls near each staircase or torches behind glass cases in designated crevices.

At first, Nico thinks there’s only two staircases with accompanying entrances, but there turn out to be another two staircases right beside the entrance to the dorms. Like the two at the far-end of the room, these staircases have alternating steps. The one to Nico’s left is blue and bronze, and the one to Nico’s right is red and gold. Between the two far-end staircases is a large fireplace with a walnut coffee table in front of it and several red and green recliners set in a semi-circle. Too Christmas-y, Nico thinks to himself, although he realizes the color scheme was probably due to other reasons. The wall to Nico’s left is separated by a glass wall that connects to the edge of the balcony, creating a long row of rooms, each separated by walls of technologically advanced smart writing boards. Within each room is a silver table with bronze chairs, a counter with a sink, and modern technology such as speakers and a projector. There’s also pieces of magic equipment that seem to connect to the technology, such as a bowl-shaped device that lies on the counter underneath the projector. 

The wall on Nico’s right is a collection of modern technology, including the latest game consoles, a television, several desks with desktop computers, and a stereo sitting beside a modern record player. There’s a blue sectional couch surrounding the area, where several fifth years have already chosen to take up residence. Although everything seems to be non-magic based, the students seem to control the devicces with their wands, rather than a remote control or a mouse. The center area of the room, right underneath the second level reading area, has a sunken sitting area with a rounded triangle table in the center. Everywhere Nico looks, he sees purple carpet covering the floor. The colors look awkward and disorganized but they somehow seem to work together to make a symbol of the unity that Potter seemed to be talking about earlier that day. 

“This looks...modern...” Nico trails off as he takes another look around the room.

“What did you expect? A dark room with a cauldron in the center?” Scorpius’s voice says from behind him as the two brothers near Nico. 

“No-” Nico says, “Yes...maybe?” Nico doesn’t want to admit that the witch and wizard stereotype was exactly what he thought when he first learned about the wizarding world. Obviously, his thoughts changed after a few conversations with Hazel, but, after hearing that wizards tended to lag behind non-magical people in terms of technology and science, he was unsure of what to visualize in his mental images of Hogwarts.

Albus and Scorpius, once again, stare at him in suspicion, but they must have given up trying to pry answers out of him because they merely shrug it off and head over to the green and silver staircase. Deciding that social interaction was a no-go for that day, Nico follows them up the stairs. Climbing the stairs with a wand in his pocket and a sword at his side still felt a bit clunky, but he is now more accustomed to it than he had been the first day he had gotten his wand. That had been a strange day. 


End file.
